B737 Undifferentiated or Other Model
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP); Flight Crew Multiengine; Flight Crew Instrument
Inflight Event / Encounter Fuel Issue; Inflight Event / Encounter Unstabilized Approach; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
Flight Crew Diverted; Flight Crew Executed Go Around / Missed Approach
Airport; Human Factors; Weather
Dispatch and I had been watching the weather at ZZZ from the beginning of the pairing due to the weather and short runway in ZZZ. The TAF was improving; but was still going to be close if we would make it in. Weight; gusty winds; strong crosswinds; rain; Flaps 40/MAX brakes required; night land at an unfamiliar field; limited fuel due to landing weight at ZZZ and a new (but excellent) First Officer made for a very complicated situation at best. The Dispatcher and I agreed to reevaluate the flight after the ferry flight. When I reconnected with the Dispatcher for the next leg; the forecast again had marginally improved; but was still not great. The only true improvement was we were able to move the alternate back to ZZZ1; which was better for the fuel and the customer. We were now on Release 4. Everyone was briefed (flight attendants and charter coordinator) that ZZZ was legal from a weather and weight perspective; but advised that it could still be a bumpy approach and diverting to ZZZ1 was still a possibility. Due to the short flight; I kept the Flight Attendants up to date on timing and turbulence. We were able to fly above most of the weather and turbulence and had time to thoroughly brief the RNAV GPS Runway XX approach for ZZZ. Flaps 40 and max brakes were the only way to make the landing in ZZZ and we discussed that we would be dealing with a small margin on approach speed due to max flap speed of 162; and a strong cross wind landing. Winds were 15 kts gusting to 35. We also briefed the windshear escape procedures in case. We configured early on the approach and were able to fly a stable approach through 500 feet. As the gusty wind began to pick up; I disengaged the autopilot and autothrottles to better control the aircraft; especially speed. We got the runway in sight; but we could now tell there was precipitation again in the area and moderate turbulence was encountered. We then got strong up/down drafts with 'don't sink' calls. I then immediately called and executed a go-around and knowing our fuel status (and lack of true field conditions) called for a divert to ZZZ1. A normal landing was made in ZZZ1.
B737 Captain reported severe weather on approach that resulted in a diversion.