I was in Manotowok, Wisconsin on Saturday evening and Sunday as participants for the Thunder on the Lakeshore Airshow. We flew down from Canada in a pair of F-18s' and while over South Dakota, we flew around the nastiest weather I have ever seen! We were at 41000 ft and the anvils on the TCUs' were topping at over 50000 ft. THe line of storms was probably 300-400 miles long in an East-West direction.
When we were on descent into Manotowok, we went thru another line of cells in close echelon right formation. With leads wingtip 15 feet away, you could just barely see the wingtip missile launcher! WHat a pucker factor!

I can only imagine the ferocity of the rain on the ground at the time. We did get to experience it later on Saturday night, but we were enjoying drinks at the reception at the time.
I will post some pix and vids from the air, when I download the camera....

[link]http://www.manitowocairshow.com/index.html[/link]

Cheerz,

HornetFitter