KCLX radar — Charleston, SC
KCLX is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Charleston area, operated with the NWS office CHS. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KCLX (Charleston, South Carolina) |
|---|---|
| Location | 32.6550°, -81.0420° · Jasper County |
| Elevation | 226 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 KCLX see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KCLX, 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 KCLX | 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 KCLX's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 361 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KCLX radar, 57 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in April and September. The strongest was an EF4 on April 13, 2020, which passed about 8 miles north-northwest of the radar and caused 5 deaths. The most recent was an EF0 on July 10, 2025, which touched down about 34 miles south of the radar.
Hail: 851 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KCLX radar since 1955, 46 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 3.50-inch hail (teacup size) on April 5, 1993.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 361 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 57 |
| Strongest tornado | EF4 · Apr 2020 |
| Busiest tornado month | April |
| Largest hail | 3.50 in · Apr 1993 |
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.
Cities covered by KCLX
- Jacksonville, FL 165 mi south-southwest
- Charlotte, NC 178 mi north
Nearby radars
- KCAE · Columbia, SC 90 mi
- KJGX · Robins AFB, GA 134 mi
- KJAX · Jacksonville, FL 155 mi
- KVAX · Moody AFB, GA 168 mi
- KGSP · Greer, SC 168 mi
KCLX radar FAQ
How often does KCLX 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 KCLX?
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 KCLX down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KCAE, KJGX, KJAX).