Mike Granby wrote:

This seems quite reasonable to me. A given level of return might be
quite flyable in stratus, but quite something else in convective
conditions.

Today's activity was the result of a low pressure system just over the
border of the US into Canada that sent a pretty strong cold front marching
across New England. The temperature differences on either side of the cold
front were about 30 degrees F.

Now I am not a meteorologist by trade or university, but I am pretty
confident that the level three and higher returns showing up on radar ahead
of this cold front today were not falling from a stratus layer.

Presumably the FSS specialist was quite aware of the weather maker causing
the rain and should have saved his smart-assed comments for another, more
docile day. This day there were good reasons for a single engine aircraft
to avoid the "non-green colors" on radar, given that the big jets all were
making every effort to do so *and* that convective Sigments were released
for portions of New England while we were en route.

--
Peter