KIND radar — Indianapolis, IN
KIND is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Indianapolis area, operated with the NWS office IND. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KIND (Indianapolis, Indiana) |
|---|---|
| Location | 39.7080°, -86.2800° · Marion County |
| Elevation | 886 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 KIND see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KIND, 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 KIND | 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 KIND's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 597 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KIND radar, 181 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in June and May. The strongest was an F4 on April 11, 1965, which passed about 28 miles north-northwest of the radar and caused 28 deaths. The most recent was a tornado of unknown strength on July 16, 2025, which touched down about 59 miles south-southeast of the radar.
Hail: 1,747 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KIND radar since 1955, 143 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 4.25-inch hail (softball size) on May 25, 2011.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 597 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 181 |
| Strongest tornado | F4 · Apr 1965 |
| Busiest tornado month | June |
| Largest hail | 4.25 in · May 2011 |
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 KIND
- Indianapolis, IN 8 mi east-northeast
- Cincinnati, OH 103 mi east-southeast
- Louisville, KY 104 mi south-southeast
- Evansville, IN 139 mi south-southwest
- Lexington, KY 150 mi southeast
- Chicago, IL 166 mi north-northwest
- Columbus, OH 175 mi east
- Springfield, IL 179 mi west
Nearby radars
- KIWX · Fort Wayne, IN 118 mi
- KLVX · Louisville, KY 121 mi
- KVWX · Evansville, IN 127 mi
- KILN · Wilmington, OH 132 mi
- KLOT · Chicago, IL 162 mi
KIND radar FAQ
How often does KIND 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 KIND?
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 KIND down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KIWX, KLVX, KVWX).