Don't think that was the same storm as, to the best of my knowledge, no WWII flattop had catapults.
Good catch! I didn't see that. Yep, that can't be USS Independence in 1944. It must be mislabled on this site: http://www.cvl-22.com/pics2.html
(third row down - last picture.)
I believe most Essex-class carriers had catapaults by the end of WWII.
http://www.ibiblio.org/maritime/photolibrary/index.php?cat=1292
In drawing up the preliminary design for USS Essex (CV-9), particular attention was directed at the size of both her flight and hangar decks. Aircraft design had come a long way from the comparatively light planes used in carriers during the 1930s. Flight decks now required more takeoff space for the heavier fighters and bombers being developed. Most of the first-line carriers of the pre-war years were equipped with flush deck catapults, but owing to the speed and size of these ships very little catapulting was done?except for experimental purposes.
With the advent of war, airplane weights began to go up as armor and armament got heavier; crew size aboard the planes also increased. By the war?s end in 1945, catapult launchings would become more common under these circumstances with some carrier commanding officers reporting that as much as 40% of launchings were effected by the ships? catapults.