does lightning strike upward?
Ground-to-cloud lightning: upward-moving. Unlike cloud-to-ground lightning which starts inside the thunderstorm, a ground-to-cloud lightning flash begins from a tall ground-based object and moves upward. This type of lightning is common with strikes to towers and skyscrapers: read more.
Cloud-to-ground lightning: downward-moving. For a cloud-to-ground discharge, the stepped leader (the channel of ionized air) begins in the lower section of a thunderstorm cloud and propagates downward. When the tip of the stepped leader approaches the ground, one or more upward-moving leaders initiate from the ground.