RAIN SQUALLS AT HNL REDUCED FLT CONDITIONS TO IMC DURING A VISUAL APCH IN A PA32.

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CLRED TO ENTER CLASS B AIRSPACE AT HNL ABOUT 22 MI OUT (E ARR) AT 2000 FT. GIVEN RADAR VECTORS TO WAIALAE GOLF COURSE; WHICH IS THE VISUAL FIX FOR THE APCH TO RWY 22L&R. WX BEGAN TO DETERIORATE ABOUT 15 MI OUT. ASKED FOR LOWER ALT; GIVEN 1500 FT TO AVOID CLOUDS. UPON REACHING WAIALAE GOLF COURSE; ATC QUERIED WHETHER I COULD STAY VFR AND MAKE THE APCH. IF I COULDN'T; THEY WOULD GIVE ME AN LDA (CIRCLING LETDOWN TO THE RWY). THE CEILING WAS RAPIDLY DROPPING AND THERE WERE RAIN SHOWERS IN ALL QUADRANTS; BUT I COULD SEE THE FREEWAY WHICH WAS THE TRACK FOR THE APCH. I TOLD ATC I COULD MAKE IT; REMAINING CLR OF CLOUDS. I ASKED FOR A LOWER ALT AND RECEIVED 1000 FT. FORWARD VISIBILITY WAS ABOUT 1 MI BUT I HAD GOOD GND VISIBILITY AND REFS. ON ABOUT A 5 MI EXTENDED L BASE FOR RWY 22L; A SQUALL BLEW OUT OF ONE OF THE VALLEYS TO MY R AND I WAS INSTANTLY IMC. I GOT ON THE GAUGES AND IMMEDIATELY DSNDED TO 800 FT AND REGAINED VFR. I WAS WORRIED ABOUT ANOTHER SQUALL AND I WAS JUST ABOUT TO KEY THE MIKE TO REQUEST AN LDA WHEN I BROKE OUT WITH 5+ MI VISIBILITY. I CONTINUED AND MADE AN UNEVENTFUL LNDG. TO MY KNOWLEDGE THAT APCH WAS SHUT DOWN AFTER MY LNDG. THE AREA RECEIVED 3.5 INCHES OF RAIN IN THE NEXT SEVERAL HRS. LOOKING BACK I SHOULD HAVE ACCEPTED THE LDA BECAUSE OF THE DYNAMICS OF THE WX SYS THAT WAS SURROUNDING OAHU. I HAD CHKED THE WX BEFORE THE FLT AND WHILE IT WASN'T THE BEST IT WAS GOOD ENOUGH FOR THAT APCH. I HAVE FLOWN THAT CLASS B APCH HUNDREDS OF TIMES AND HAVE HAD TO WORK HARD SOMETIMES TO STAY VFR BUT THIS WAS THE WORST I HAD SEEN IT IN OVER 23 YRS OF FLYING OUT OF HNL.