SR20
Situational Awareness; Training / Qualification; Time Pressure
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
Air Traffic Control Issued Advisory / Alert; Flight Crew Requested ATC Assistance / Clarification; Flight Crew Returned To Departure Airport
Human Factors; Weather
Prior to the flight we saw the weather building to the south east in so we decided to go to ZZZ and stay local in case the weather deteriorated we could come back quickly before conditions got worse. After we took off we started to do the [DME] arc and hold then we did an approach. After the approach I was planning on going back to ZZZ1 to do an ILS and LOC Approach. After hearing ATC talk about weather coming in from the south I decided to go back to ZZZ1 before it arrived. We grabbed the ATIS and it seemed normal but did state lightning south. Visually it was dark south of the lake. We were following an Air Carrier back into ZZZ1 and got real time pilot reports for the conditions on the final from that aircraft. The Air Carrier reported light turbulence. I immediately took into consideration that light for them would be moderate for us and I have flown in moderate turbulence conditions before so I decided to continue. There was heavy to extreme precipitation reported on final but we only encountered light to moderate. Not once did ATC inform me of anything other than precipitation and slight turbulence from the Airbus. At no point on final did I see any lightning or encounter any turbulence or gusts; the approach to landing was no different than any other minus the precipitation. At no point did myself or my student feel our personal safety was in jeopardy. After we landed and parked the aircraft the precipitation started to get heavy and extreme and there was frequent lightning. Myself and my student remained inside the aircraft for nearly 30 minutes for the weather to subside before we returned to dispatch. I called dispatch to inform them after we parked that we made it on the ground safe.Reflecting upon the decision I made versus my other options after speaking with the [school] manager I understand that I took an unnecessary risk and should have avoided trying to beat the weather to get back to home base. I had enough fuel and or could have diverted elsewhere. Although ATC never stated that there was a thunderstorm over ZZZ1 and the current ATIS that we got did not reflect the visual conditions; I will contact the tower next time to ask what the current conditions are to make a better decision. I will also take the visual component into consideration better in the future.
Flight instructor reported returning to their departure airport during an approaching thunderstorm.