Storms are IMO not meaningless. Many times I've set up bases of operations deep in enemy territory inside a storm. It's quite effective when you can build a few SY's and replenish fighters, sats, etc.; refuel / resupply; or just build up an attack force within the enemy's territory.
I 'discovered' this by accident a LONG time ago. I got one of those 'spacial anomolies' that transported a SpaceStation with an SY half way across the map early in the game. Didn't (at the time) know what to do with it so I started building. Of course, I couldn't do any diplomacy or intel untill we had a Warp Point connection, but I still could raid 'em...
