What does it mean when your hair stands on end and your skin tingles when your outside in a thunder storm?

well, yesterday i was at the beach with my friend and my mom and it started to storm but it wasn't raining yet, so my mom let us stay for a little longer and watch the storm come in. and our hair was standing up and our skin kinda tingled. i heard a little crackling noise too. But none of us knew why that was happening my mom said it was probably because of the static electricity but im not sure.