How can lightning punch holes through houses like a bomb, yet sometimes strike that same house and do nothing?

Question

I saw a news headline tonight about a lightning strike that blew apart a ladies roof with about a 6 foot diameter hole, and the same house was struck a year before and nothing. I dont believe its a ground issue....

Answer 1

Lightning is just basically like a lottery. It is such a wierd phenomena were its just a chance for lightning to cuase damage or not. Just like in this case, one lightning bolt did not cause damage, but a year later, it blew a large hole through the roof. Honestly, however, for a lightning strike not to blow a hole through the roof, it must have grounded somehow. If lightning does not ground, then it will explode violently and cause damage. However, there are other cases that show that lightning is a chance. For istance, some people die when they get hit by lightning, and others survive.

And that first lightning strike to that lady's house may not have hit the roof, but could have hit a windowsill or just hit a gutter or something that  was able to ground the charge.