For a time, it seemed the game would load without having to watch the cinematic, but suddenly, I have to endure the cinematic again up until the storm arrives. Is this on my end, or are folk experiencing this issue as well?
Typically, I can get to the game screen as soon as the Steam interface connects; only then I can click and the game screen loads, but now they are back to subjecting me to the cinematic every time I log in =[
Maybe you added mods recently? Or your PC/storage device got slower?
The cinematic is a cover for a loading screen, it can be replaced by a black screen if you prefer, but the game still needs time to load. So if you cannot skip it, the game is busy loading things.
Without mods on a fast PC, you will practically not see the video (or black screen), but the mods you add will bog it down noticeably at some point.