PA28 PILOT IS UNABLE TO REMAIN IN VMC DURING NIGHT CROSS COUNTRY AND ELECTS TO RETURN WITH CENTER'S HELP.

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AT XA00 AM LCL TIME I CHKED DUATS WX BRIEFING AND SAW NO ADVERSE CONDITIONS ALONG OUR INTENDED RTE. I DID NOT FILE A FLT PLAN BECAUSE I WAS GOING TO USE FLT FOLLOWING. I THEN PREFLTED THE PLANE CONTACT DEP TO REQUEST FLT FOLLOWING AND ASK IF THERE WERE ANY ADVERSE CONDITIONS THAT HAD POPPED UP SINCE I HAD LOOKED. THEY ADVISED THAT SOME TSTMS WERE PRESENT ABOUT 50 MI N OF MY INTENDED RTE AND ADVISED I MAY HAVE TO DIVERT S TO MISS THE TURB FROM THE STORMS. THE FIRST 45 MINS OF THE FLT WAS AS PLANNED AND THEN WE BEGAN TO SEE CLOUDS OFF TO THE L OF US; WE TALKED TO CTR BACK AND FORTH MANY TIMES GETTING UPDATES ON THE CONDITIONS. THEIR RADAR SHOWED NO PRECIP ON OUR RTE. ABOUT 10 MI W OF ZZZ WE FLEW INTO A CLOUD THAT WE DID NOT SEE AND DSNDED TO MAINTAIN VFR; WE DSNDED A FEW MORE TIMES TO MAINTAIN VFR UNTIL I DID NOT FEEL SAFE DSNDING ANY LOWER. I ADVISED CTR OF THE SITUATION AND BEGAN A 180 DEG TURN TO HEAD BACK IN THE DIRECTION THAT I HAD CAME TO GET OUT OF THE CLOUDS. UNFORTUNATELY THE CLOUD COVER HAD EXTENDED TO WITHIN ABOUT 10 MI OF ZZZ1 AT THAT TIME. I DID NOT FEEL THAT DSNDING FURTHER WOULD BE SAFE AND KNEW I WAS AT AN ALT THAT WAS FREE OF ANY OBSTRUCTIONS ON MY PATH BACK TO ZZZ1. CTR HELPED ME WITH VECTORS AS DID THE ZZZ1 TWR. AT ABOUT 10 MI FROM ZZZ1 I WAS ABLE TO ONCE AGAIN ESTABLISH VFR. I AM NOT IFR RATED AND KNOW THAT IT IS A VIOLATION FOR ME TO BE IN THE CLOUDS. THE CLOUDS FORMED SO QUICKLY I FOUND MYSELF IN THE MIDDLE OF THEM WITH NO OTHER SAFE ALTERNATIVE THAN TO RETURN TO ZZZ1 WHICH I KNEW WAS VFR AT THE TIME AND LAND. I DID LAND SAFELY AND WAITED THERE ABOUT 8 HRS AND COMPLETED THE ORIGINAL INTENDED JOURNEY. I DO WANT TO THANK THE CTLRS AT BOTH CTR AND ZZZ1 TWR FOR ALL OF THEIR HELP. I DID NOT REALIZE THAT CLOUDS FORMED THAT QUICKLY OFF OF THE MOUNTAINS THERE.