I have some interest in thunderstorms, as I live in the Northeast where
we don't get to see them as well as you do, and don't like flying
through them by mistake. Seems to me that if downtown, just a mile or
two away (the length of a long runway) is getting "pounded", that's too
close to a thunderstorm, clear or not. Ten to twenty miles is what I
was taught, especially considering that hail can fall that far away.

Were you really flying, landing even, "one or two" miles from the
thunderstorm in a cherokee?

I don't think so. After reviewing the photos (which I'll get 'round to
posting, one of these days) I'd say it was more like five or six miles
away.

This is still pretty close, probably too close for a building,
advancing line of storms. However, this was a retreating, isolated
cell, and there was virtually no wind when we touched down.

This kind of storm happens frequently in the Midwest at this time of
year. We call them "popcorn" storms, cuz they pop up and move in a
very disorganized fashion, and are usually not associated with any
frontal boundaries. This makes them hard to predict but easy to spot,
in a clear blue sky, and because they are small they are pretty easy to
fly around.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"