Well, yeah. I've read enough to know it's fairly well-known that ion storms and such impart charge. Though as to where and how much, and through what specific mechanism it propagates, not quite sure. Though if you look at http://thunder.nsstc.nasa.gov/data/

Specifically data from OTD and LIS, more specifically monthly lightning maps, you notice a definite banding pattern along specific latitudes independent of seasonal variability. There's generally a large band around the equator, one half way up the northern hemisphere and one half way down the southern hemisphere...

If you have firefox and broadband, I suggest going to the OTD section's browsable lightning map images and opening ALL of the monthly maps of the full globe (sadly LIS only has data from around the equator, though it's been going on longer so technically has more data from that region) in different tabs but the same window from 95-2000, then page though them slowly one by one.

You'll see seasonal variability of lightning strike bands around the magnetic/rotational axes (not sure which is more important, if either in the banding patterns). But you'll also see distinct bands at certain latitudes basically year-round. It'll vary a bit from month to month, but you'll definitely see the banding emerge as you tab through them a few times. The bands also appear to not care whether they're over land or water. There's a bit more over land, but the ocen gets plenty of lightning too.

Anyway, I'm not quite sure why these bands exist at preferential latitudes? Specific storm patterns? Jet streams? Or is there an electrical tie to that particular latitude of the atmosphere itself?

Don't know, but it's interesting what you see when ya' start lookin'. Of course it could all just be coincidental too. Though I'm not entirely sold on coincidences when it comes to what looks like a fairly strong banding pattern of lightning strikes. At some point, too many "coincidences" add up to a "pattern." ;o)