INSTRUCTOR PLT FLYING WITH PVT PLT BUILDING TIME FOR COMMERCIAL RATING ENCOUNTERS SEVERE UPDRAFTS AND HAS ALT EXCURSION. NO RADAR WX RPTS IN THE AREA. REQUEST VECTORS AWAY FROM THE AREA AND TO THE ARPT FOR AN APCH FOR LNDG.

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I WAS ON A DUAL FLT ACCOMPANYING A PVT PLT WITH INST RATING WHO WAS BUILDING FLT TIME FOR A COMMERCIAL CERTIFICATE. WHILE AT 3000 FT MSL; I ASKED ZMA IF THEY SHOWED ANY WX AHEAD OF OUR RTE. THEY SAID THAT THEY WEREN'T SHOWING ANY RETURNS. WE WERE APPROX 15 MI NE OF VERO BEACH; FL (VRB). WE ENTERED IMC AND ENCOUNTERED LIGHT TURB. VERY QUICKLY THEREAFTER THE TURB INCREASED IN SEVERITY AND WE ENTERED A VERY STRONG UPDRAFT. OUR VSI PEGGED ITSELF AT 1500 FPM CLB AND WE RAPIDLY GAINED AIRSPD. WE FOUGHT TO CTL THE AIRPLANE AT OR BELOW MANEUVERING SPD. ATC THEN ADVISED US OF OUR ALTDEV (WE WERE NOW AT 3600 FT MSL) AND TOLD US WE HAD A BLOCK OF ALT. WE ADVISED THEM THAT WE HAD ENTERED AN UNCTLABLE UPDRAFT AND REQUESTED IMMEDIATE VECTORS OUT OF THE AREA. ATC SAID THAT THEY STILL WERE NOT SHOWING ANYTHING; BUT 090 DEGS SHOULD WORK. WE FLEW THROUGH INTENSE RAIN AND LIGHT TO MODERATE TURB WHILE NOW BEING VECTORED FOR THE VOR DME RWY 29L APCH. AT THE TIME; I FELT THE VOR APCH WAS MUCH BETTER THAN OUR OTHER CHOICE; AN NDB APCH. WHAT I DIDN'T REALIZE WAS THAT THE FAF ON THIS APCH IS A DME/VOR INTXN. OUR PLANE WAS NOT EQUIPPED WITH DME! HOWEVER; MY EXPERIENCE HAS BEEN THAT ATC COULD ADVISE US OF OUR PROX TO THE FAF USING RADAR. WE WERE TOLD THAT WE WERE APPROX 8 MI FROM VRB AND HANDED OFF TO VRB. VRB WAS RPTING ON ATIS FEW CLOUDS AT 900 FT; SCATTERED AT 1100 FT; OVCST AT 2500 FT. BY NOW; WE WERE AT 1600 FT AND ON THE FINAL APCH COURSE. VRB TOLD US THAT WE WERE CLR FOR THE APCH AND TO RPT THE RIVER. I ASKED ATC TO TELL US WHERE WE WERE IN RELATION TO THE FAF. THEY ADVISED US THAT HE WAS UNABLE -- NO RADAR. WE HAD BRIEF CONTACT WITH THE OCEAN BELOW US SO I KNEW THAT WE HAD TO BE SAFELY OUT ON THE COAST. I FULLY EXPECTED TO POP OUT OF THE CLOUDS BY 1000 FT MSL. THIS IS WHAT THE ATIS WAS. I COMMENCED THE LETDOWN AND WE SOON DISCOVERED THAT THE CLOUDS WEREN'T WHERE WE THOUGHT THEY SHOULD BE. ONLY AFTER DROPPING DOWN TO 600 FT (MDA WAS 540 FT) WERE WE ABLE TO MAKE CONTACT WITH THE GND. I DID LAND SUCCESSFULLY AND WE DISEMBARKED AT THE FBO. WE WERE ALL A BIT SHAKEN BUT GLAD TO BE ON THE GND IN THE POURING RAIN. THE WX CHANNEL RADAR AT THE VRB FBO SHOWED AN AREA OF ORANGE AND RED THAT HAD JUST DEVELOPED TO THE NE OF VRB. I BELIEVE WE WERE CAUGHT IN THE DEVELOPING STAGE OF A TSTM. OUR PREDEP BRIEFING IN DAYTONA BEACH HAD INDICATED THAT VRB WAS CLR AND WOULD PROBABLY BE AT THE TIME OF ARR. RADAR SHOWED VRB TO BE CLR; WITH NO STORMS AROUND IT (OR PRECIP FOR THAT MATTER). THE TAF HAD A CHANCE OF TSTM; BUT ALL OF FLORIDA HAD THAT IN THE FORECAST. SO OUR INDICATIONS WERE THAT FLYING TO VRB WOULD BE FAIRLY UNEVENTFUL. WE DIDN'T GO TO ANOTHER ARPT AFTER THE ENCOUNTER WITH THAT UPDRAFT BECAUSE I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT ELSE WAS OUT THERE. ATC HAD ALREADY SAID THAT NOTHING WAS SHOWING -- AND YET WE HAD JUST GONE THROUGH 'HELL.' I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT ELSE WAS AROUND VRB; OR OUR ALTERNATE; AND I DIDN'T WANT TO BE FLYING AROUND BLIND. I DECIDED THAT LNDG AT VRB WAS THE BEST OPTION. SHOOTING AN NDB WAS DEFINITELY NOT AS GOOD AS A VOR APCH.