A helicopter is certainly the only VFR aircraft that I want to be in when the weather is marginal and the trend is worsening. I have had tea with more than one family, surprised when I "dropped in" to wait something out.
The weather as described doesn't sound bad for low level stuff at an airport, but I understand the R-22 can be a handful in very windy conditions (I've never flown one). As for lightning, I know of more than one helicopter that has been struck and, while the results were not immediately apparent, the cost of changing almost every bearing on the aircraft was very expensive.
That being said, it used to be commonplace, when fighting fires, to take off and follow a CB as it came by your staging area to "call in" the strikes. We called in over 40 starts from one cell a few years ago in northern Alberta. It seems that this isn't done much anymore, as I have been on a few fire bases lately where all aircraft are ordered to remain on the ground when there are thunderstorms in the area. I am not aware of any incidents that caused this change of attitude, but I just give the customer what they want, provided I am happy with my personal level of safety.
HV