G'day PBSMM,
I've had a couple of strikes during my carreer, over 30 years so far, both in the military, Oz Airforce, and during airline operations. The temperature sounds about right, most strikes occur within 5degC of the freezing level, that is when the outside air temp is between -5C and +5C or between 23degF and 41 degF.
Aeroplanes are designed to minimise static electricity potential buildup by having discharge wicks at the wing, stabiliser and rudder tips, you can see them next time you're at an airport. By keeping the electrical potential of the aircraft as low as possible it minimises the chance that the aircraft structure is going to be a suitable path for a lightning discharge.
Nose strikes are fairly common, that's where the weather radar is and is an area of high electrical potential, but they can occur anywhere on the structure. There is always an entry point and an exit point, sometimes many such points, which generally are no larger than a tiny pinhole. Serious structural damage is uncommon.
You're right, the noise and flash is much less intense than you would have imagined. There is a recommendation to set the cockpit lights up to maximum brightness, if operating in an area where lightning strikes may occur, to minimise the flash effect but in my experience the visibility was so poor, due to torrential rain, that the effect of the flash was minimal.
Regards,
BH.