Skylane 182/RG Turbo Skylane/RG
Flight Crew Private
Flight Crew Last 90 Days 46; Flight Crew Total 350; Flight Crew Type 280
Other / Unknown
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural FAR; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Inflight Event / Encounter VFR In IMC
Flight Crew Became Reoriented
ATC Equipment / Nav Facility / Buildings; Weather
ATIS reported VFR; clouds 3;500 feet and broken. Sunrise was in minutes; so the clouds were not visible. After takeoff; upon turning right crosswind; I flew straight into IMC. I was only at 1;500 feet when this took place. I placed the aircraft on autopilot and continued direct with a 500 fpm climb as I knew this route was the safest way to handle the situation as turning back to the airport would have been dangerous as MRY is located at the base of a mountain. Several minutes later I broke through the unexpected cloud layer and leveled out at 5;500 feet which was the best altitude with VFR conditions and 10 plus mile visibility. The ATIS and weather reporting was not congruent with actual weather conditions.
C182 pilot reported; on a night takeoff; entering IMC when ATIS reported VMC.