C172 PLT COMPLAINS OF QUALITY OF WX RPT FROM ASOS GENERATED ATIS INFO. RETURNING TO ROA; VA; HE ENCOUNTERED NUMEROUS TSTMS THAT HE HAD TO AVOID. WX RPT FAILED TO SPECIFY DIRECTION OF STORMS. PLT WAS VFR VMC.

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DEPARTED ROA FOR TRIP OF 180 MI ESE. FORECAST SCATTERED LATE AFTERNOON SHOWERS AND TSTMS. CHKED WX BEFORE HEADING HOME. CWA'S SIGMETS FOR TSTMS BORDERING THE ROA AREA. CHKED AWOS'S AND ATIS'S ONCE AIRBORNE; SAME THING. LISTENED TO LYH ATIS AND WHEN ABOUT 100 MI OUT; ROA'S ATIS. (ALSO LISTENED TO HIWAS VORS AS ADVERTISED ON ATIS'S.) THE POINT OF THE RPT IS THAT WHEN I GOT ROANOKE'S ATIS; ABOUT 100 MI (1 HR) OUT IT WAS 10-TS RA FEW 034...(TRYING TO WRITE THIS THE PROPER WAY)... BASED ON THIS RPT; THERE MUST HAVE BEEN A TSTM CLOSE ENOUGH TO ROA TO HEAR THUNDER OR SEE LIGHTNING; BUT NOT CLOSE ENOUGH TO AFFECT THE CLOUDS OR VISIBILITY. THERE WERE NO REMARKS INDICATING DIRECTION OF THE STORM FROM THE ARPT AND THE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT. I BELIEVE THESE ITEMS ARE REQUIRED TO BE ON THE METAR RPT. THE CTLRS JUST HIT A KEY THAT SAYS 'TSTM' AND ZIPPO. THEY HAVE A METAR OR SPECI; BUT IT'S INCOMPLETE. WE STAYED LOW AND VFR; VISUALLY IDENTED SHOWERS SE OF ROANOKE; OBSERVED LIGHTNING E OF ROANOKE AND WELL N OF US; AND KEPT AWAY FROM IT ALL TO A SAFE ARR. NO THANKS TO THE ASOS RPT. AUGMENTATION OF ASOS DOES NOT WORK AT THIS ARPT.