Isolated Thunderstorms and Consequences

[errorhasoccured]

I wish to one day be able to experience Isolated/Stand Alone Thunderstorms with proper cumulonimbus and towering cumulus cloud heights and structure as well as having realistic up and down drafts if near enough or within the storm due to the swirling and gusting winds. As it is now (likely due to implementing METAR into the live weather) we fly into an area where there is a thunderstorm or rain cell and instead of seeing it from far away and then coming up to it - the clouds are fragmented and scattered around (also VERY transparent, like a light fog cloud that we can see through), then the storm kind of just “generates” around the aircraft once within a few miles of the storm/cell. This is not realistic and quite annoying plus there is not way for us to avoid these dangerous storms when they occur because the “storms” literally generate only once close enough to the cell, and quite frankly they do not resemble thunderstorms at all.

This is not how it used to be before the METAR implementation.

Since Asobo implemented the METAR into the real time weather we have lost the ability to see proper “one-off” isolated thunderstorm cloud structures from far away - except sometimes we still see some large system/front that the MSFS Live Meteoblue weather “agrees” with the METAR.

Also, can we bring the lighting back? Maybe even look at real time lighting data such as from this website? Real Time Lightning Map :: LightningMaps.org

[Downscc]

Isolated TS, also known as air mass storms as opposed to frontal systems, are very common in the US plains region during the summer months and can be quite impressive and often beautiful from a distance. I doubt this or any simulator will ever be able to model them.

[errorhasoccured]

@Downscc

I doubt this or any simulator will ever be able to model them.

I have seen them in MSFS screenshots - albeit likely that it was a preset I know the simulator is capable of rendering them without trashing the framerates. In fact, I believe one is shown during MSFS boot up. Plus I know I’ve seen them before the METAR update.

I think they just need to come up with an algorithm that would “build” the storm cells so they are all unique and not the same “sprite” every time we see a storm (circa 1996 simulator). Or just bring them back like they used to have before METAR.

So not only the isolated thunderstorms but embedded thunderstorms that build within a front would be awesome!

Here’s a good video about avoiding thunderstorms. Beautiful to look at but do NOT go near them! We need this tensity in MSFS! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUTTT60POzc

[errorhasoccured]

Thank you using the Bug section, using templates provided will greatly help the team reproducing the issue and ease the process of fixing it.

Are you using Developer Mode or made changes in it?

Tried using dev mode and without. Same outcome.

Have you disabled/removed all your mods and addons? Yes

Brief description of the issue:

May be more areas for sure, I fly mostly in the Southeast USA; and noticed that Thunderstorms are “missing their guts” specifically over the ocean (Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean east of Florida)

What I mean by “missing the guts” is that I always see the high clouds expected over the top of Thunderstorms, but all of the towering cumulonimbus clouds between lower altitude and upper (between appx 2,000 feet and 30,000 to 50,000 feet) that produce rain and dangerous conditions are not present as expected. It’s almost as if the weather system is bugged where it “knows” a thunderstorm should be in a certain place, but the clouds are missing. See screenshots below.

Provide Screenshot(s)/video(s) of the issue encountered:

Provide coordinates (DevMode > Options > Display position)

N29 48.43 W85 13.15

Provide time & date of the observed Weather issue

12 DEC 2022 @ 11:25 UTC (for the dawn screenshot above)

Detailed steps to reproduce the issue encountered:

Fly in areas of thunderstorms over ocean

PC specs and/or peripheral set up if relevant:

Build Version # when you first started experiencing this issue:

all the way back to SU3 timeframe?

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[Shmoo2864]

This should have more attention, would love to see some real TCU’s and CB’s as opposed to a bit of surface rain and lightning in clear skies

[errorhasoccured]

I do not think, in the games current state that it is possible to do this; or else Asobo would have already done it. I think they would need to revamp the whole weather graphics and system to achieve better looking clouds (instead of see through puffs) and a true full overcast let alone thunderstorms like we speak of here. Maybe… someday.

[errorhasoccured]

Another example of how flying is / can be so dangerous. The ground we need to be aware of yes, but the sky is a pilots true home. The real world atmosphere is dynamic and ever changing which makes it so much more challenging to conquer. THAT is really the game, of course flying the plane is top priority, but the real challenge should also be the environment IMO; and really we should be balancing both as soon as we lift off!

Here is a great video showing just cumulus type clouds and how you really need to avoid them if possible. Very dense clouds, not sure we really get this density in the game? Maybe some day.

This is WHY I DON'T Fly Thru Clouds

[Wivenswold]

Thunderstorms are still terrible. I checked out this real-time storm in Australia and what we have here is fluffy small and innocuous Cumulus clouds dumping a curtain of rain, absolutely no lightning.

3 years into its development and the game can’t do clouds that look or act like Cumulonimbus in real time. Nor do we have distant lightning, an essential visible warning to pilots.

[errorhasoccured]

@Wivenswold

3 years into its development and the game can’t do clouds that look or act like Cumulonimbus in real time. Nor do we have distant lightning, an essential visible warning to pilots.

What is really sad is, that we had thunderstorms before SU3’ish timeframe and they were great! There were also clouds that were actually opaque and gave the feeling of motion when flying through them / breaking out of the cloud deck.

The engine cannot even do a true overcast layer and especially higher ones like over 10,000 feet. Even when the engine can create a somewhat overcast layer, sitting on the ground change the time to night and you can see stars all around - changing it back to day you’ll see the clouds are there. The cloud engine looks quite pathetic now.

But this whole thread and many others just seem to be falling on deaf ears.