KEYX radar — Edwards AFB, CA
KEYX is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Edwards AFB area, operated with the NWS office VEF. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KEYX (Edwards AFB, California) |
|---|---|
| Location | 35.0980°, -117.5610° · San Bernardino County |
| Elevation | 2,871 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 KEYX see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KEYX, 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 KEYX | 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 KEYX's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 29 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KEYX radar, 1 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in September and August. The strongest was an F2 on June 25, 1954, which touched down about 38 miles south-southeast of the radar. The most recent was an EF0 on September 9, 2021, which touched down about 41 miles south-southwest of the radar.
Hail: 26 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KEYX radar since 1955. The largest was 1.75-inch hail (golf ball size) on June 5, 2023.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 29 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 1 |
| Strongest tornado | F2 · Jun 1954 |
| Busiest tornado month | September |
| Largest hail | 1.75 in · Jun 2023 |
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
- KSOX · Santa Ana Mountains, CA 89 mi
- KVTX · Los Angeles, CA 103 mi
- KHNX · San Joaquin Valley, CA 143 mi
- KNKX · San Diego, CA 153 mi
- KESX · Las Vegas, NV 156 mi
KEYX radar FAQ
How often does KEYX 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 KEYX?
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 KEYX down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KSOX, KVTX, KHNX).