PA32 PLT ENCOUNTERS IFR CONDITIONS VICINITY OF TSTM AND ISSUES PAN; PAN URGENCY ALERT.

Narrative

DEPARTED XYZ VFR DEADHEAD PART 91 TO PICK UP PAX ABC TO TRANSPORT VFR 135 TO GON. FLT WAS MOVED UP DUE TO FORECAST OF TSTMS FOR MID-DAY. WX AT WST WAS CLR BELOW 12000 FT 10 MI VISIBILITY. WX AT GON; 1800 FT SCATTERED 4500 FT OVCST. UPON REACHING THE COAST OF THE N SHORE OF THE S FORK OF LONG ISLAND; RAIN AND LIGHTNING OCCURRED AND HVY RAIN. BEING ONLY 3 MI FROM THE CLOSEST ARPT I CHOSE TO DSND TO 1200 FT AND TRY TO MAKE IT INTO HTO. I THEN FOUND MYSELF UNABLE TO MAINTAIN VFR AND PROCEEDED TO CLB INTO IMC AND TURN R 90 DEGS KNOWING THE WX WAS BETTER AT BID. BEING IMC AND NOT ON A CLRNC I CHOSE TO SQUAWK 7700 AND CALL APCH. I CALLED APCH; 'CHEROKEE...PAN PAN PAN.' APCH IMMEDIATELY ANSWERED AND ASSISTED ME WITH AN IFR CLRNC CHANGING MY SQUAWK TO A NORMAL SQUAWK. KNOWING THAT THE DAY WAS A MARGINAL DAY AND THOUGHT I MIGHT NEED TO OPERATE A PART 91 LEG WITH IFR CONDITIONS; AS MY OP IS A VFR 135 OP; I THEN ASKED FOR VECTORS TO WST AND THE LOC RWY 7 APCH. I THEN CONTACTED OPS AND ADVISED OF SIT. OPS TOLD ME TO THINK OF ABC; AS THE WX WAS VFR THERE AND COMPANY HAD RPTED TSTM IN THE VICINITY OF XYZ. I THEN SHOT THE VOR RWY 10 APCH AT ABC WITHOUT INCIDENT. ACTUALLY I THINK 'THE SYS' WORKED WELL. TSTMS WERE FORECAST FOR AFTER XA00 AM AND THE CELLS MOVED QUICKER TO THE E. PVD IMMEDIATELY ASSISTED ME AS THE PAN PAN PAN WAS ANNOUNCED. THE AWOS SYS ASSISTED IN MY CHOOSING AN ALTERNATE; AND PIREPS FROM COMPANY ASSISTED ME GREATLY.