GaryO
Pre-takeoff checklist
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2005
- Messages
- 295
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Display name:
Gary Ostrander
I just got back from a $100 burger run to Okeechobee (OBE). The problem is that I barely made it back.
Flight service predicted no weather concerns. For the 3 hour period which would cover the round trip, weather was expected to be dominated by a high pressure area. I could expect "fair weather clouds" from 3500 - 4500 ft. and varying from few to broken.
On the flight over I stayed low to remain well below a broken layer. It was hazy and bumpy. After a good meal I refueled and departed for the return trip. The conditions remained the same so I climbed higher to avoid the worst of the bumps. Unfortunately, higher also meant reduced forward visability. I was heading West into the afternoon sun.
But I've flown this route many times and, although these were the worst conditions I was willing to fly in, I did have at least 8nm forward visablilty and about 12 - 15 nm visability to the sides.
About half way I noticed through the gaps in the clouds that the tops were a lot higher than I expected. Then I saw a flash of lightning dead ahead. I turned NE toward Arcadia and decended.
As I passed over Arcadia's field I weighed my options. Of course landing at Arcadia was option #1. But after decending, I was able to see an area to the West and South that was "whiter" than the rest. I was sure that "whiter" area was rain. But everwhere else it looked OK, and down at 2000 ft I had about 15 nm visability. As long as I gave the rain a wide berth I would be OK. And if things started to look worse I could always return to Arcadia. Or so I thought.
I continued NE to circle around the "white" area. Shortly after that, I noticed that it was clearer to the NNE. That's when I realized that it was "whiter" both ahead and to my right. I turned toward the clearer area with the realization that the rain was closing in behind me, cutting off my retreat. And I could now tell that the original area of rain was growing fast.
The building storms seemed to disolve the haze. Visability increased to 20-30 nm. but that just made things look worse. Instead of white, the storms were now black. Dark black clouds with heavy rain and frequent lightning on both sides and a very narrow, and closing, gap behind me where I had just come through. And closing in on both sides.
I was in a race to get West of the storms before they joined. The GPS was showing 108 kts but it didn't look like I was winning the race.
At this point I decided to call Flight Service to report what I was seeing. I couldn't raise the St. Pete. FSS but after while Miami FS answered. At first, he sounded like he didn't believe me when I reported TS all around me. Then he said "OK, I see them now. They just popped up. There's a wide area of TS in" and then listed the counties. I couldn't hear all of it because of the static. There was lightning on both sides. He then spent the the next few minutes asking a lot of questions. Exactly where was I? how frequent is the lightning? how heavy is the rain? what direction is the rain?
Finally, he told me that they were showing level 3 TS in my area with haevy rain and a possibility of up to 1" hail. He then asked me what I planned. I told him that I would try to get into VNC. But the storm to the S was building faster than the one to the N, so if the storm reached VNC before me I would go to SRQ. My course at the time was taking me N of VNC anyway.
About then I found myself flying in light rain. A few minutes later I broke out into the sunshine 11 nm from VNC. A normal pattern entry and landing followed. I don't think Carol ever realized just how worried I was getting.
And the storms never came any further West. We still have clear skies in Venice.
Flight service predicted no weather concerns. For the 3 hour period which would cover the round trip, weather was expected to be dominated by a high pressure area. I could expect "fair weather clouds" from 3500 - 4500 ft. and varying from few to broken.
On the flight over I stayed low to remain well below a broken layer. It was hazy and bumpy. After a good meal I refueled and departed for the return trip. The conditions remained the same so I climbed higher to avoid the worst of the bumps. Unfortunately, higher also meant reduced forward visability. I was heading West into the afternoon sun.
But I've flown this route many times and, although these were the worst conditions I was willing to fly in, I did have at least 8nm forward visablilty and about 12 - 15 nm visability to the sides.
About half way I noticed through the gaps in the clouds that the tops were a lot higher than I expected. Then I saw a flash of lightning dead ahead. I turned NE toward Arcadia and decended.
As I passed over Arcadia's field I weighed my options. Of course landing at Arcadia was option #1. But after decending, I was able to see an area to the West and South that was "whiter" than the rest. I was sure that "whiter" area was rain. But everwhere else it looked OK, and down at 2000 ft I had about 15 nm visability. As long as I gave the rain a wide berth I would be OK. And if things started to look worse I could always return to Arcadia. Or so I thought.
I continued NE to circle around the "white" area. Shortly after that, I noticed that it was clearer to the NNE. That's when I realized that it was "whiter" both ahead and to my right. I turned toward the clearer area with the realization that the rain was closing in behind me, cutting off my retreat. And I could now tell that the original area of rain was growing fast.
The building storms seemed to disolve the haze. Visability increased to 20-30 nm. but that just made things look worse. Instead of white, the storms were now black. Dark black clouds with heavy rain and frequent lightning on both sides and a very narrow, and closing, gap behind me where I had just come through. And closing in on both sides.
I was in a race to get West of the storms before they joined. The GPS was showing 108 kts but it didn't look like I was winning the race.
At this point I decided to call Flight Service to report what I was seeing. I couldn't raise the St. Pete. FSS but after while Miami FS answered. At first, he sounded like he didn't believe me when I reported TS all around me. Then he said "OK, I see them now. They just popped up. There's a wide area of TS in" and then listed the counties. I couldn't hear all of it because of the static. There was lightning on both sides. He then spent the the next few minutes asking a lot of questions. Exactly where was I? how frequent is the lightning? how heavy is the rain? what direction is the rain?
Finally, he told me that they were showing level 3 TS in my area with haevy rain and a possibility of up to 1" hail. He then asked me what I planned. I told him that I would try to get into VNC. But the storm to the S was building faster than the one to the N, so if the storm reached VNC before me I would go to SRQ. My course at the time was taking me N of VNC anyway.
About then I found myself flying in light rain. A few minutes later I broke out into the sunshine 11 nm from VNC. A normal pattern entry and landing followed. I don't think Carol ever realized just how worried I was getting.
And the storms never came any further West. We still have clear skies in Venice.
