Narrative:

While approaching the airport to land, I noticed rain approaching the downwind leg while on downwind, it started to rain hard enough to drop the visibility significantly. The runway remained in sight as well as the entire airport environment, so a safe landing was assured, even though for a brief moment the VFR minimums went down. At that point, it was much safer to land than go around and fly a couple of mi wbound. All this WX happened so fast it caught me off guard and I'm sure the tower as well. I learned that with rain in the vicinity, even if the airport is in sight, it is best to divert to an alternate airport until the WX is clear of the area.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A BE58 PLT ENCOUNTERED A RAIN SQUALL IN THE ARPT TFC PATTERN AND LANDED WITH REDUCED VISIBILITY.

Narrative: WHILE APCHING THE ARPT TO LAND, I NOTICED RAIN APCHING THE DOWNWIND LEG WHILE ON DOWNWIND, IT STARTED TO RAIN HARD ENOUGH TO DROP THE VISIBILITY SIGNIFICANTLY. THE RWY REMAINED IN SIGHT AS WELL AS THE ENTIRE ARPT ENVIRONMENT, SO A SAFE LNDG WAS ASSURED, EVEN THOUGH FOR A BRIEF MOMENT THE VFR MINIMUMS WENT DOWN. AT THAT POINT, IT WAS MUCH SAFER TO LAND THAN GO AROUND AND FLY A COUPLE OF MI WBOUND. ALL THIS WX HAPPENED SO FAST IT CAUGHT ME OFF GUARD AND I'M SURE THE TWR AS WELL. I LEARNED THAT WITH RAIN IN THE VICINITY, EVEN IF THE ARPT IS IN SIGHT, IT IS BEST TO DIVERT TO AN ALTERNATE ARPT UNTIL THE WX IS CLR OF THE AREA.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.