I remember departing JFK on another flight and the taxiing to the runway was ridiculously fast. Almost like a yellow cabbie. At one point I wouldn't have been surprised if we'd been up on two wheels as we cornered.
Wondered what the hell was going on until we got airborne and it turned out we seemed to be attempting to outrun a gigantic storm. It was on both side of us as we climbed and headed out over Long Island, full of lightning. Probably the most spectacular weather views I have ever seen from a plan.
Flight was actually surprisingly smooth however (frequent twists and turns notwithstanding) so the pilot was clearly doing an exceptional job that day.