This time of year, we have waves of weather coming in from the northeast about every 5-6 days. When it hits the warm wet air full of energy from the Gulf, things can get quite nasty. That's pretty much what drives the vast amount of weather on the eastern half of the country. There was a huge long line of storms running thru the north central to north east of the state. It was one that stayed full of energy late into the night.
Later in the year, storms are generated by the heat and tend to die out fairly quickly after dark, driving force removed.