KCCX radar — State College, PA
KCCX is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the State College area, operated with the NWS office CTP. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KCCX (State College, Pennsylvania) |
|---|---|
| Location | 40.9230°, -78.0040° · Centre County |
| Elevation | 2,484 ft above sea level |
| Type | WSR-88D (NEXRAD) S-band dual-polarization Doppler radar |
| Products in TALON | Super-res reflectivity (0.25 km), velocity, storm-relative velocity, rotation (azimuthal shear), correlation coefficient PRO |
How high can KCCX see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KCCX, the higher above the ground the radar is looking. Tornadoes start in the lowest few thousand feet, so storms close to the radar show low-level rotation much better.
| Distance from KCCX | Lowest scan (0.5°) | Next scan (1.5°) |
|---|---|---|
| 10 mi | 500 ft | 1,400 ft |
| 25 mi | 1,500 ft | 3,800 ft |
| 50 mi | 3,600 ft | 8,200 ft |
| 75 mi | 6,300 ft | 13,200 ft |
| 100 mi | 9,600 ft | 18,800 ft |
| 150 mi | 18,200 ft | 32,000 ft |
Height of the beam's center above the radar, using standard refraction. Terrain can raise or block the beam.
Severe weather inside KCCX's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 155 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KCCX radar, 26 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in July and June. The strongest was an F4 on May 31, 1985, which passed about 50 miles north-northwest of the radar and caused 4 deaths. The most recent was an EF1 on March 16, 2025, which touched down about 46 miles north-northwest of the radar.
Hail: 314 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KCCX radar since 1955, 13 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 3.00-inch hail (teacup size) on May 28, 2019.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 155 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 26 |
| Strongest tornado | F4 · May 1985 |
| Busiest tornado month | July |
| Largest hail | 3.00 in · May 2019 |
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather database — tornadoes 1950–2025, hail 1955–2025 (the latest year is preliminary). Distances are to each tornado's recorded track; ratings before February 2007 use the original Fujita (F) scale.
Nearby radars
- KPBZ · Pittsburgh, PA 119 mi
- KBGM · Binghamton, NY 137 mi
- KLWX · Sterling, MD 137 mi
- KBUF · Buffalo, NY 145 mi
- KDOX · Dover AFB, DE 199 mi
KCCX radar FAQ
How often does KCCX update?
Every NEXRAD radar completes a full scan about every 4–6 minutes in storm mode, and repeats the lowest tilt more often (SAILS) during severe weather. TALON loads each new scan as it arrives.
What is the range of KCCX?
Reflectivity reaches about 290 miles and velocity about 185 miles, but useful low-level detail is within roughly 100 miles — see the table above.
Is KCCX down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KPBZ, KBGM, KLWX).