KGWX radar — Columbus AFB, MS
KGWX is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Columbus AFB area, operated with the NWS office MEG. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KGWX (Columbus AFB, Mississippi) |
|---|---|
| Location | 33.8970°, -88.3290° · Monroe County |
| Elevation | 587 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 KGWX see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KGWX, 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 KGWX | 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 KGWX's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 633 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KGWX radar, 188 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in April and March. The strongest was an EF5 on April 27, 2011, which passed about 18 miles northeast of the radar and caused 72 deaths. The most recent was an EF1 on June 7, 2025, which passed about 43 miles west-northwest of the radar.
Hail: 1,174 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KGWX radar since 1955, 97 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 4.88-inch hail (grapefruit size) on June 14, 2023.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 633 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 188 |
| Strongest tornado | EF5 · Apr 2011 |
| Busiest tornado month | April |
| Largest hail | 4.88 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.
Cities covered by KGWX
- Tupelo, MS 33 mi northwest
- Tuscaloosa, AL 65 mi southeast
- Birmingham, AL 91 mi east-southeast
- Huntsville, AL 115 mi east-northeast
- Memphis, TN 131 mi northwest
- Jackson, MS 154 mi southwest
- Montgomery, AL 157 mi southeast
- Nashville, TN 179 mi north-northeast
Nearby radars
- KBMX · Birmingham, AL 103 mi
- KNQA · Memphis, TN 133 mi
- KHTX · Huntsville, AL 147 mi
- KDGX · Jackson, MS 147 mi
- KMXX · Maxwell AFB, AL 174 mi
KGWX radar FAQ
How often does KGWX 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 KGWX?
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 KGWX down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KBMX, KNQA, KHTX).