Narrative:

On departure from atl it was observed on radar that a large thunderstorm was about twenty miles to the north east. We departed to the east with a heading of 070 instead of the assigned RNAV departure. This heading seemed appropriate to keep us away from the extreme weather. A few minutes after departure; ATC assigned a heading of 350. I questioned ATC regarding this clearance as it would place us directly into the storm in twenty miles. I asked to continue current heading. ATC denied my request to continue heading and said further turns to the west would come within five miles. We did receive a turn to the west; but there were still large cumulus clouds in our path although with nothing painting on radar. We entered a cloud that almost instantly produced severe turbulence. Speed variations were up to 50 knots. The pilot flying (PF) turned the plane to the south to get out of the turbulence while I reported severe turbulence to ATC and the heading we would need to fly to escape. ATC said that they was unable to allow us to fly that heading and only allowed us a 10 degree change. Once we exited the turbulence I checked with the flight attendants for injuries and none were reported. An immediate report to dispatch was made and an aircraft maintenance logbook entry upon landing.atlanta was departing aircraft to the north hoping to squeeze them between the runway and the storm in their turn to the west. The spacing was not there for this type of flight path planning. The aircraft behind us also reported severe turbulence moments after we did. The problem was not the weather but the controller who would not let the pilots fly their desired path around the weather. Upon advising ATC of our 'escape' heading; the response was 'I can't let you do that.' the only way to have avoided this event would have been to flat out refuse to accept or follow ATC assigned headings.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A321 flight crew reported being vectored into thunderstorms by ATC departing ATL. The crew encountered severe turbulence and resistance from ATC to turn away.

Narrative: On departure from ATL it was observed on radar that a large thunderstorm was about twenty miles to the north east. We departed to the east with a heading of 070 instead of the assigned RNAV departure. This heading seemed appropriate to keep us away from the extreme weather. A few minutes after departure; ATC assigned a heading of 350. I questioned ATC regarding this clearance as it would place us directly into the storm in twenty miles. I asked to continue current heading. ATC denied my request to continue heading and said further turns to the west would come within five miles. We did receive a turn to the west; but there were still large cumulus clouds in our path although with nothing painting on radar. We entered a cloud that almost instantly produced severe turbulence. Speed variations were up to 50 knots. The Pilot Flying (PF) turned the plane to the south to get out of the turbulence while I reported severe turbulence to ATC and the heading we would need to fly to escape. ATC said that they was unable to allow us to fly that heading and only allowed us a 10 degree change. Once we exited the turbulence I checked with the flight attendants for injuries and none were reported. An immediate report to dispatch was made and an Aircraft Maintenance Logbook entry upon landing.Atlanta was departing aircraft to the north hoping to squeeze them between the runway and the storm in their turn to the west. The spacing was not there for this type of flight path planning. The aircraft behind us also reported severe turbulence moments after we did. The problem was not the weather but the controller who would not let the pilots fly their desired path around the weather. Upon advising ATC of our 'escape' heading; the response was 'I can't let you do that.' The only way to have avoided this event would have been to flat out refuse to accept or follow ATC assigned headings.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.