Thus, I'd like to put out for consideration a number of thoughts that can be used to offset the negative aspects of severe storms that we tend to emphasize. Thunderstorms are the predominant form of precipitation during the warm season in middle latitudes. In the tropics and subtropics, virtually all precipitation comes from thunderstorms. What this means is that in order to have any rain at all, thunderstorms are the most common way to provide rain during the warm part of the year in midlatitudes, and is basically the only way rain occurs in a significant part of the world. Without the beneficial rainfall from thunderstorms, the world would be a much drier and less hospitable place.
Any ordinary thunderstorm produces lightning, which certainly can be dangerous.
However, lightning has a beneficial side-effect that few people recognize. However, the nitrogen in the air is in a form that plants cannot use directly. Furthermore, lightning-caused forest and prairie fires are increasingly being recognized as important components of a healthy ecosystem. Strong winds from thunderstorms can do terrible damage to buildings and other artificial structures. Winds tend to seek out the weak and old parts of a forest, breaking limbs and uprooting some trees.