Did the recent thunder storms cause our hens to stop laying?

At this time of year, with the longest day just over a month away, our eight hens are usually at their most productive. So we were more than a little surprised when they suddenly stopped laying last week. Egg production dropped from five or six eggs per day to as few as one a day or, sometimes, none at all.
Wondering if the coop had been invaded by red mites - a nasty parasite that plagued our hens last summer - or some other pest, we gave the hens a health check and the coop a thorough clean-out, as well as sprinkling some red mite powder in the bedding. Thankfully there was no sign of anything sinister; all our hens appear to be in rude health. This made the sudden lack of eggs all the more puzzling.
It was only when my husband, Jonny, ran into another local chicken-keeper that we discovered that our hens were not the only ones to have stopped laying.
It became apparent that the problem was not unique to us, so we began to look for other explanations. The penny dropped when it was mentioned to us that thunder storms can have a detrimental effect on hens - we'd had powerful storms, with thunder and lightening, the week before. A bit more research revealed that, when healthy hens suddenly stop laying, it's usually because they've had a shock of some sort. Several websites and forums that I've looked at appear to suggest that thunder and lightening frightens hens, disrupting their laying patterns.

Thankfully, two weeks after the storms, egg production is now picking up again; we had four yesterday and three the day before. Looks like we'll have to sound-proof the coop next time a storm is forecast!