Storms can cause damage to trees particularly by loss of tree branches. This may expose hollows in the trunks providing nesting sites and habitat for wildlife.
Lightning strikes can kill individual trees, and some of the plants growing around their base. Again, the dead trees may provide wildlife habitat. The main benefit of storms is the occasional heavy rainfall that may occur, though in a short intense rainfall event much of this will runoff rather than penetrating the soil.
Find more information and images in Climate and our weather station.