C172 pilot reported inadvertently going VFR into IMC conditions.

Attributes
ACN	1510773
Time
Date	201801
Local Time Of Day	1201-1800
Place
Locale Reference	ZZZ.Airport
State Reference	US
Environment
Flight Conditions	Marginal
Light	Daylight
Aircraft 1
Make Model Name	Skyhawk 172/Cutlass 172
Operating Under FAR Part	Part 91
Flight Phase	Initial Approach
Route In Use	Visual Approach Direct
Flight Plan	None
Person 1
Function	Single Pilot Pilot Flying
Qualification	Flight Crew Instrument Flight Crew Private
Experience	Flight Crew Last 90 Days 4 Flight Crew Total 618 Flight Crew Type 618
Events
Anomaly	Deviation - Procedural FAR Inflight Event / Encounter VFR In IMC Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence

Narrative:

I was on approach in marginal weather conditions 7 mi from a VFR landing when I suddenly found myself in IMC conditions. The visibility and ceiling were suddenly gone and I was VFR in IMC. I have often wondered how this happens to people. I gained some altitude and turned southwest because my garmin 796 with xm weather suggested that was the most expedient route out of the IMC. My focus was on flying the airplane based on my instrument training. I have 137 hours of actual and simulated instrument time. I exited the IMC and landed at [a nearby airport] without incident. I should have been more conservative with the rapidly changing weather. This was a first and a last for me; although I am comfortable flying in IMC with an IFR flight plan and ATC providing separation VFR in IMC is extremely dangerous as well as a violation.

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: C172 pilot reported inadvertently going VFR into IMC conditions.

Narrative: I was on approach in marginal weather conditions 7 mi from a VFR landing when I suddenly found myself in IMC conditions. The visibility and ceiling were suddenly gone and I was VFR in IMC. I have often wondered how this happens to people. I gained some altitude and turned southwest because my Garmin 796 with XM weather suggested that was the most expedient route out of the IMC. My focus was on flying the airplane based on my instrument training. I have 137 hours of actual and simulated instrument time. I exited the IMC and landed at [a nearby airport] without incident. I should have been more conservative with the rapidly changing weather. This was a first and a last for me; although I am comfortable flying in IMC with an IFR flight plan and ATC providing separation VFR in IMC is extremely dangerous as well as a violation.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.