VFR navigation is called "pilotage" - it is the art of looking out the friggin' window. Something weather forcasters have never mastered.
Those of us who happened to be in the Northeast on 9/11 clearly remember that it was a crystal clear day with a bit of a nip in the air.
One might think that a pilot flying at 10,000 feet in the region could have seen clearly for 100 miles or more.