After the flash of light you'll see of course lightning, which can strike down trees, houses, cars, poles, anything really. Now how you can tell if there were lots of lightning during storms or a storm right now is if you see something on flame, burnt, or no power for a couple of days. That's what horrible storms are when lightning occurs. But then there's thunder, when you see the lightning the thunder is right behind. That's how you can also tell that there is tons of lightning.
Sometimes it is hard to see lightning, due to it being hid behind the clouds. But even the light can shine through them and then you'll at least know there was one there. I hope I answered your question in the correct way.