雷, 稲妻, 落雷, and 雷鳴: sound, visible lightning, and representation
Use the verbs and objects to read rumbling 雷, visible 稲妻, actual or feared 落雷, and 雷鳴 represented with drums. Distinguish a lightning strike from theatrical thunder.
雷 sounding and 稲妻 being visible
雷（かみなり） has both thunder and lightning-strike senses. 「遠くで雷が鳴り始めたので、急いで洗濯物を取り込んだ。」（When thunder began rumbling in the distance, I hurried to bring in the laundry.） 鳴り始めた marks the sound beginning. In contrast, 「近くの木に雷が落ち、太い枝が折れた。」（Lightning struck a nearby tree and broke a thick branch.） uses 木に落ち for a strike on the tree, with a branch breaking as a result.
稲妻（いなずま） means lightning. 「夜空を白い稲妻が走った。」（White lightning streaked across the night sky.） focuses on its visible movement across the sky. 「遠くに稲妻が見えたので建物の中へ入った。」（We saw lightning in the distance and went inside the building.） likewise uses 見えた for lightning seen at a distance, followed by going into a building.
A strike, its risk, and thunder's sound
落雷（らくらい） means a lightning strike. 「近くで落雷があり、電灯が一度消えた。」（There was a nearby lightning strike, and the light went out once.） reports a strike and the light going out once. 「落雷の恐れがあるため屋外の行事を中止した。」（We canceled the outdoor event because of the risk of lightning.） uses 恐れがある for risk, giving the reason for cancellation rather than reporting an actual strike.
雷鳴（らいめい） refers to thunder's sound. 「遠くで雷鳴が響き、空が急に暗くなりました。」（Thunder rumbled in the distance, and the sky suddenly grew dark.） gives rumbling and a sky growing dark. 「劇場では太鼓を使って雷鳴を表現しました。」（The theater used drums to create the sound of thunder.） establishes the theater context in which drums create the sound.
Verbs distinguish the events
鳴る and 響く direct attention to sound; 見える and 走る to visible lightning; 落ちる and 落雷がある to a strike. 雷 occurs with both 鳴り始めた and 木に落ち, so its supplied senses are not limited to thunder's sound.
恐れがある and 表現しました also set the scope. An event canceled due to lightning risk differs from a strike occurring. Thunder represented with drums differs from lightning striking inside a theater. Follow the predicates to separate phenomenon, risk, and representation.
What events do 「近くの木に雷が落ち、太い枝が折れた。」 and 「劇場では太鼓を使って雷鳴を表現しました。」 describe?
Show the answer and why
The first reports lightning striking a nearby tree and breaking a thick branch. The second reports drums being used in a theater to represent thunder. The theatrical sound does not become an actual lightning strike in the theater.