Naomi mentioned passing through a storm (or thick black clouds)....
Desmond came via a storm..
Daniele, Frank, Charlotte and Miles arrived during storm..
Sayid, Frank and Desmond passed though a storm back to the freighter...

Is the reason we saw no storm when 815 crashed because the timer
had run out?!

Is this storm what protects the outer rim of this island?! An electromagnetic Storm?!

Does the storm have something to do with the black smoke??

At this point in time, I'm picturing the storm as an anomaly that surrounds the island. The key is in the approach one takes in entering or leaving the island. You have to stay on a specific heading to navigate safely through the storm. The helicopter was slightly off Dan's heading, and took a day and a half to travel from island to freighter - it should have only taken 20 minutes. But from Sayid's perspective, no unusual amount of time passed. The only way he knew something was wrong was because the helicopter "left at dusk and landed in the afternoon." Basically, the helicopter was suspended/trapped/slowed down by the anomaly for the extra time. Outside the anomaly, ON ISLAND AND OFF, time passed normally. The proof of that is Desmond and Penny's call - three years had passed for each of them since Desmond disappeared. So each time someone arrives "by storm" they are actually navigating the anomaly.

Didn't the pilot of 815 say they hit a storm coming in. Maybe entering the island has the reverse effects. When you enter the barrier, it seems like hours/days/weeks but to outside perspective it is instantanious.

Didn't the pilot of 815 say they hit a storm coming in. Maybe entering the island has the reverse effects. When you enter the barrier, it seems like hours/days/weeks but to outside perspective it is instantanious.

I think he did. Can't remember for sure.

Naomi mentioned passing through a storm (or thick black clouds)....
Desmond came via a storm..
Daniele, Frank, Charlotte and Miles arrived during storm..
Sayid, Frank and Desmond passed though a storm back to the freighter...

Is the reason we saw no storm when 815 crashed because the timer
had run out?!

Is this storm what protects the outer rim of this island?! An electromagnetic Storm?!

I like your thinking, very interesting.
Question, if the system failure cleared the skies for 815 (also, I think they mentioned they were at 30-40,000ft).. and the discharge 2 months later with the Swan impolosion, shouldnt the skies have been fully clear for Naomi and the freightastic four?
or am I looking at it wrong?

What about Minkowski and friend? They got at least close to the island in the adventure. He didn't mention a storm, but I guess it could have been the same one that Frank et al "weathered" (pun intended.)

well, was the storm always there by nature, or is it something the Dharma Initiative "built" to keep strangers from wandering onto their little island? I figure not many people willinglyhead straight into a storm at sea.