KDTX radar — Detroit, MI
KDTX is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Detroit area, operated with the NWS office DTX. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KDTX (Detroit, Michigan) |
|---|---|
| Location | 42.7000°, -83.4720° · Oakland County |
| Elevation | 1,214 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 KDTX see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KDTX, 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 KDTX | 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 KDTX's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 409 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KDTX radar, 114 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in June and August. The strongest was an F5 on June 8, 1953, which passed about 31 miles north-northwest of the radar and caused 116 deaths. The most recent was an EF0 on June 18, 2025, which touched down about 29 miles east-southeast of the radar.
Hail: 953 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KDTX radar since 1955, 58 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 4.50-inch hail (grapefruit size) on July 26, 1978.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 409 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 114 |
| Strongest tornado | F5 · Jun 1953 |
| Busiest tornado month | June |
| Largest hail | 4.50 in · Jul 1978 |
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
- KGRR · Grand Rapids, MI 106 mi
- KCLE · Cleveland, OH 121 mi
- KIWX · Fort Wayne, IN 147 mi
- KAPX · Gaylord, MI 165 mi
- KPBZ · Pittsburgh, PA 225 mi
KDTX radar FAQ
How often does KDTX 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 KDTX?
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 KDTX down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KGRR, KCLE, KIWX).