Definitely Rick, I would not recommend anyone try to ride while storms are approaching and one should definitely not use these techniques to intentionally ride in unsafe conditions. That's just asking for trouble.
But it's also important to understand that kiters can get hammered on a clear sunny day with nothing obvious on the radar just as they can on nasty rainy day.
A seemingly non-threatening column of summer rain or a thin band of clouds and approaching blue sky may be the only clue that something is about to happen.
Telling yourself you will pull your release if you get into trouble to is not really a reliable survival technique.
Safe kiting.