KIWA radar — Phoenix, AZ
KIWA is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Phoenix area, operated with the NWS office PSR. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KIWA (Phoenix, Arizona) |
|---|---|
| Location | 33.2890°, -111.6700° · Pinal County |
| Elevation | 1,424 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 KIWA see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KIWA, 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 KIWA | 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 KIWA's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 90 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KIWA radar, 6 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in July and September. The strongest was an F2 on August 30, 1971, which passed about 15 miles northwest of the radar. The most recent was a tornado of unknown strength on March 7, 2024, which touched down about 34 miles south of the radar.
Hail: 148 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KIWA radar since 1955, 8 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 3.00-inch hail (teacup size) on October 5, 2010.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 90 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 6 |
| Strongest tornado | F2 · Aug 1971 |
| Busiest tornado month | July |
| Largest hail | 3.00 in · Oct 2010 |
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
- KFSX · Flagstaff, AZ 93 mi
- KEMX · Tucson, AZ 114 mi
- KYUX · Yuma, AZ 182 mi
- KESX · Las Vegas, NV 248 mi
- KICX · Cedar City, UT 305 mi
KIWA radar FAQ
How often does KIWA 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 KIWA?
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 KIWA down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KFSX, KEMX, KYUX).