A BE76 PLT CANCELLED IFR AT LFK WHILE VMC THEN ENTERED IMC. HE BECAME DISORIENTED; REGAINED CTL AND CONTINUED AN IFR APCH UNDER VFR.

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I WAS DSNDING OUT OF 11000 FT FROM THE W FOR LNDG AT THE LFK ARPT. A LINE OF THUNDERSTORMS HAD JUST MOVED OVER THE ARPT A LITTLE OVER AN HOUR EARLIER; LAYERED CLOUDS REMAINED OVER THE ARPT. THE THUNDERSTORMS WERE NOW 40-50 MI E OF THE ARPT AND LIGHTNING COULD BE SEEN. THE ASOS WAS RPTING A FEW CLOUDS AT 2500 FT BROKEN AT 4000 FT; AND OVERCAST AT 5500 FT. I HAD BEEN LISTENING TO THE ASOS OFF AND ON FOR ABOUT 20 MINS BEFORE ARR; AND THE CONDITIONS SEEMED TO BE STABLE AS FAR AS THE CLOUD COVERAGE WAS CONCERNED. I EXPECTED TO BE ABLE TO FLY VISUALLY INTO THE LUFKIN ARPT. AT ABOUT 7000 FT I ENTERED THE CLOUDS DURING THE DSCNT; FOLLOWING THE VECTORS THAT I WAS RECEIVING FROM ZHU. I HAD ALREADY SET UP THE COCKPIT FOR A POSSIBLE ILS TO RWY 7; BUT WAS EXPECTING A VISUAL. ABOUT 20 MI W AND AT 5000 FT THE CTLR CLRED ME TO 3000 FT AND 'AN APCH AT LUFKIN.' I ASSUMED THIS MEANT THAT I WAS CLRED FOR THE VISUAL ONLY. AT 10 MI OUT I LEVELED OFF AT 3000 FT AND FOUND MYSELF STILL IN THE CLOUDS. HOWEVER; I DID NOTICE THAT I WAS RIGHT ON THE LOC FOR THE ILS FOR RWY 7; BUT I HAD NOT BEEN CLRED FOR THAT PARTICULAR APCH. I CONTINUED ON AT 3000 FT AND THE IMC PERSISTED. I THEN DECIDED TO CALL THE CTLR TO LET HIM KNOW THAT I WOULD NEED TO FLY THE ILS RWY 7. BEFORE I COULD NOTIFY THE CTLR; HE GAVE HOLDING INSTRUCTIONS TO ANOTHER ACFT INBND TO LFK. THERE WAS CONFUSION BETWEEN THE OTHER PLT AND CTLR REGARDING THE HOLD AND THE FREQUENCY WAS CONGESTED FOR SEVERAL MINS. BY THE TIME THAT THE FREQUENCY FINALLY CLRED I WAS ONLY 3 MI FROM THE ARPT AND STILL AT 3000 FT. I WAS ADVISED THAT I WOULD NEED TO FLY THE FULL PROC. FORTUNATELY THE COCKPIT HAD BEEN ALREADY SET UP FOR THE ILS WHICH RESULTED IN A HIGH BUT MANAGEABLE WORKLOAD. WHILE OUTBND AND DSNDING; I DSNDED BELOW THE CLOUD LAYER INTO ABOUT 5 MI VISIBILITY. AFTER EXECUTING THE PROC TURN THE ARPT CAME INTO VIEW. I WATCHED THE ARPT FOR A FEW MINS TO MAKE SURE THAT CONDITIONS WERE GOOD ENOUGH FOR A VISUAL APCH; THEN NOTIFIED THE CTLR THAT I CAN CANCEL IFR. I FELT HURRIED BECAUSE I KNEW THAT ANOTHER AIRPLANE WAS HOLDING; WAITING FOR ME TO CLR THE AIRSPACE. APPROX ONE MIN AFTER CANCELING IFR THE ARPT LIGHTS SUDDENLY DISAPPEARED. I ASSUMED THAT THE PLT-CONTROLLED LIGHTING TIME HAD EXPIRED AND KEYED MY MICROPHONE TO TURN THE LIGHTS BACK ON. I TRIED THIS SEVERAL TIMES AND THERE SEEMED TO BE NO RESPONSE. I NOW FELT TRAPPED; IMC CONDITIONS EXISTED ABOVE ME; I COULD SEE SPARSE GND LIGHTING IN ALL DIRECTIONS; EXCEPT FOR THE ARPT; AND I KNEW ANOTHER ACFT WOULD BE APCHING THE ARPT. I BECAME SERIOUSLY DISORIENTED. VISUAL CLUES WERE FEW AND FAR BETWEEN AND I WAS LOOKING EVERYWHERE FOR THE ARPT. I INADVERTENTLY ENTERED 45 DEG BANKS WHILE TRYING TO FLY VISUALLY. I ELECTED TO CONTINUE ON AND USED MY GPS AND THE INSTRUMENTS TO NAVIGATE TO THE ARPT. ONCE 3 MILES FROM THE ARPT A LOW CLOUD APPROX 300 FT THICK AND AT 1000 FT AGL BECAME FAINTLY VISIBLE. THIS CLOUD WAS JUST MOVING OVER THE ARPT. I WAS LESS THAN 500 FT ABOVE THIS CLOUD BUT ELECTED TO CONTINUE; DSNDING TOWARDS THE CLOUD AND THE ARPT. APCHING THE TFC PATTERN ALT THE CLOUD BEGAN TO BREAK UP AND THE ARPT BECAME VISIBLE IMMEDIATELY BELOW THE ACFT. THE TFC PATTERN WAS FLOWN VISUALLY AT ABOUT 700 FT AGL AND 'SCUZZY' CONDITIONS EXISTED AT THE TIME. IT WAS TYPICAL SCUD-RUNNING. THE LNDG WAS UNEVENTFUL. WHAT THOUGHTS WERE GOING THROUGH MY HEAD: THE THUNDERSTORMS NEARBY; THE CONGESTION ON THE CTR FREQUENCY WHICH DELAYED MY ABILITY TO EXECUTE MY DESIRED COURSE OF ACTION; MY ASSUMPTION THAT THE WX ABOVE THE ARPT WAS CLR BELOW 3000 FT BASED ON THE ASOS RPT; MY INEXPERIENCE FLYING IN THE TRAIL OF A THUNDERSTORM (THIS WAS MY FIRST EXPOSURE TO THIS). I AM VERY SURPRISED HOW 'RAGGED' THE SKY WAS AFTER THIS STORM HAD COME THROUGH. THERE REALLY WAS NO UNIFORMITY TO THE CLOUDS AS FAR AS BASES AND THICKNESS ARE CONCERNED. THIS CAUGHT ME OFF-GUARD. ALSO; MY REACTION TO THE ARPT DISAPPEARING COULD REALLY BE DESCRIBED AS BEWILDERMENT. IN ALL; IT WAS A VERY CONFUSING SIT FOR ME AND INITIALLYI REALLY STOPPED FLYING THE ACFT. FORTUNATELY; AFTER REALIZING THAT THE VISUAL CLUES WERE INADEQUATE; I WENT BACK TO THE INSTRUMENTS AND FOCUSED ON FLYING THE AIRPLANE. WHAT I REALLY SHOULD HAVE DONE IS EXECUTE A MISSED APCH AND COME BACK FOR ANOTHER ILS; THIS TIME FOLLOWING THE APCH ALL THE WAY TO THE RWY. MY MIND HAD ACCEPTED THE FACT THAT I WOULD BE FLYING VISUALLY. IN MY TRAINING I LEARNED NOT TO GET IN THE WAY OF A THUNDERSTORM; HOWEVER; NO ONE EVER EXPLAINED TO ME THE EXTENT TO WHICH THEY CAN AFFECT THE LOCAL WX UP TO 50 MI AWAY. IT BEING NIGHTTIME WAS A HUGE FACTOR; I DOUBT THAT I WOULD HAVE MADE THE SAME DECISIONS DURING THE DAY.