The bad news is that forecast-ing the time and location of thunderstorm initiation is incredibly difficult if not fundamentally impossible. Most of what you might have learned about thunderstorm forecasting is probably worthless, not to mention all the useless banter you hear from your local television weather personality. It's often littered with bloody misconceptions and in some cases, outright poppycock. The good news is that I got your attention. It's obvious that the FAA requires an instrument-rated pilot to have a rudimentary knowledge base when thunderstorms are a flight risk. Being able to regurgitate the three stages of a thunderstorm, for example, is as useful as the Washington ADIZ is to pilots. The FAA has good intentions and wants you to know that bad things can happen in and around thunderstorms. Any pilot that has taken a long crosscountry flight in the spring, summer, or fall knows that the preflight planning process requires the pilot become a bit more weather savvy.
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