Lightning can heat air to 50,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and when it hits, it can damage homes and trees and injure people. But lightning also has an upside: It can create fertilizer for your yard and garden. The heat lightning generates breaks the bonds of nitrogen molecules, allowing them to bond with oxygen in the atmosphere. These then dissolve in rain and fall as nitrates, which is one of the main ingredients for fertilizer. And this is readily available for plants to use.