KDFX radar — Laughlin AFB, TX
KDFX is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Laughlin AFB area, operated with the NWS office EWX. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KDFX (Laughlin AFB, Texas) |
|---|---|
| Location | 29.2730°, -100.2800° · Kinney County |
| Elevation | 1,194 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 KDFX see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KDFX, 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 KDFX | 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 KDFX's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 92 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KDFX radar, 20 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in May and April. The strongest was an F4 on May 16, 1989, which passed about 7 miles northwest of the radar. The most recent was a tornado of unknown strength on August 19, 2025, which touched down about 39 miles west-northwest of the radar.
Hail: 655 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KDFX radar since 1955, 131 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 4.50-inch hail (grapefruit size) on March 19, 2002.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 92 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 20 |
| Strongest tornado | F4 · May 1989 |
| Busiest tornado month | May |
| Largest hail | 4.50 in · Mar 2002 |
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 KDFX
- San Antonio, TX 108 mi east
- Austin, TX 167 mi east-northeast
Nearby radars
- KEWX · San Antonio, TX 139 mi
- KSJT · San Angelo, TX 146 mi
- KCRP · Corpus Christi, TX 197 mi
- KGRK · Central Texas, TX 200 mi
- KMAF · Midland/Odessa, TX 217 mi
KDFX radar FAQ
How often does KDFX 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 KDFX?
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 KDFX down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KEWX, KSJT, KCRP).