Narrative:

I do not recall being involved in an altitude or navigation deviation but was advised to file a report for a possible deviation that occurred may/wed/02, ord-tpa. I do recall receiving a 'TA' from our TCASII system that would have been in the vicinity of roberts. I will describe this event to the best of my recollection. We were climbing out south of chicago and deviations were necessary to avoid thunderstorm activity. First officer was the PF and I was handling the radios. We were given clearance to deviate right or left of course. We initially deviated right then made a deviation to the left to get on the east side of the line of build-ups. After getting east of what was painted on our radar, we were approaching an ominous looking cloud that appeared to me like it would be very turbulent, even though it wasn't painting. I told the first officer 'that doesn't look good, let's go around it' or something to that effect. He agreed and made a left turn to avoid it. I advised ATC that we were turning further to 'such and such' a heading. After established on that heading, we received a TCASII TA but no RA. The TA surprised both of us. We monitored the traffic and felt we had safe separation. We were in the climb this entire time. What would have prevented this decrease in traffic separation would be if ATC would have given us deviation limits and a reason for them. There were other options available to us.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A320 CREW HAD THE CLRNC 'DEV R OF L' OF COURSE FOR WX AVOIDANCE. THIS CLRNC WAS NEVER RESCINDED. ZAU CTLR FILED A CLRNC VIOLATION ON THE CREW FOR DOING SO.

Narrative: I DO NOT RECALL BEING INVOLVED IN AN ALT OR NAV DEV BUT WAS ADVISED TO FILE A RPT FOR A POSSIBLE DEV THAT OCCURRED MAY/WED/02, ORD-TPA. I DO RECALL RECEIVING A 'TA' FROM OUR TCASII SYS THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN IN THE VICINITY OF ROBERTS. I WILL DESCRIBE THIS EVENT TO THE BEST OF MY RECOLLECTION. WE WERE CLBING OUT S OF CHICAGO AND DEVS WERE NECESSARY TO AVOID TSTM ACTIVITY. FO WAS THE PF AND I WAS HANDLING THE RADIOS. WE WERE GIVEN CLRNC TO DEVIATE R OR L OF COURSE. WE INITIALLY DEVIATED R THEN MADE A DEV TO THE L TO GET ON THE E SIDE OF THE LINE OF BUILD-UPS. AFTER GETTING E OF WHAT WAS PAINTED ON OUR RADAR, WE WERE APCHING AN OMINOUS LOOKING CLOUD THAT APPEARED TO ME LIKE IT WOULD BE VERY TURBULENT, EVEN THOUGH IT WASN'T PAINTING. I TOLD THE FO 'THAT DOESN'T LOOK GOOD, LET'S GO AROUND IT' OR SOMETHING TO THAT EFFECT. HE AGREED AND MADE A L TURN TO AVOID IT. I ADVISED ATC THAT WE WERE TURNING FURTHER TO 'SUCH AND SUCH' A HDG. AFTER ESTABLISHED ON THAT HDG, WE RECEIVED A TCASII TA BUT NO RA. THE TA SURPRISED BOTH OF US. WE MONITORED THE TFC AND FELT WE HAD SAFE SEPARATION. WE WERE IN THE CLB THIS ENTIRE TIME. WHAT WOULD HAVE PREVENTED THIS DECREASE IN TFC SEPARATION WOULD BE IF ATC WOULD HAVE GIVEN US DEV LIMITS AND A REASON FOR THEM. THERE WERE OTHER OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO US.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.