First time dodging thunderstorms in IMC

[Morne]

So I flew down to Myrtle Beach Sunday and came back Monday. First leg of the trip I waited a bit to let the big line of storms pass, then took off and picked my way through. My Strikefinder really earned its pay. Lots of requests to ATC for deviations, which they were plenty happy to provide. There was even another aircraft with weather radar who helped me find a way that was beyond Greensboro Approach's radar distance to see. All in all a very productive trip from which I learned a lot. You can see all the detouring I did from a direct path on this flightaware link:

http://flightaware.com/live/flight/N9231X/history/20130603/1715Z/KMYR/KBCB

Funny thing, the worst turbulence I experienced was well away from the storms during the second leg of my trip. I was somewhere around Charlestown, WV when I flew into a cloud that made me thankful for seatbelts!

Yet for all of the time I spent in actual I logged no approaches. The ceilings were above what you needed for a visual approach. It's just that at 8-9K MSL you were in and out of the clouds a lot.

 

[comanchepilot]

some nice 'pickin' but you could have easily just gone around with zero risk . . .would have added maybe 30 min to the flight. . . that is another choice. . . looking at the weather it ended just to the SW of your route of flight.

In that area - [northern FL/GA/SC/NC] but helpful on this flight, often it makes sense to fly over the ocean a little ways in summer since you develop a sea breeze front often in SC/GA southwest of MYR to about CRG which has nasty congestus, bumpy cumulus and even a squall line form in afternoon where the easterly winds meet the westerly flow aloft -

I'd often fly in the clear - not a cloud around - whereas 30nm away its boomering like crazy by 1pm. Big thunderheads and 5nm away its smooth and clear and gorgeous. Keep that in mind flying down there between early June and early September. Every late aftn / evening the pressure of the flow from the ocean collapses and the thunderstorms come in toward the ocean until hit the stable air over the ocean and collapse . . . fun to watch and good to know about if you fly in that area. Cause 30nm on track can mean the difference between getting pounded and a nice smooth ride./ . .