KJKL radar — Jackson, KY
KJKL is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Jackson area, operated with the NWS office JKL. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KJKL (Jackson, Kentucky) |
|---|---|
| Location | 37.5910°, -83.3130° · Breathitt County |
| Elevation | 1,460 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 KJKL see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KJKL, 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 KJKL | 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 KJKL's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 133 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KJKL radar, 32 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in April and May. The strongest was an EF4 on May 16, 2025, which passed about 50 miles southwest of the radar and caused 18 deaths.
Hail: 1,045 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KJKL radar since 1955, 108 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 5.00-inch hail (grapefruit size) on April 23, 1968.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 133 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 32 |
| Strongest tornado | EF4 · May 2025 |
| Busiest tornado month | April |
| Largest hail | 5.00 in · Apr 1968 |
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 KJKL
- Lexington, KY 72 mi west-northwest
- Knoxville, TN 118 mi south-southwest
- Cincinnati, OH 123 mi north-northwest
- Louisville, KY 141 mi west-northwest
- Columbus, OH 165 mi north
Nearby radars
- KMRX · Knoxville, TN 98 mi
- KRLX · Charleston, WV 100 mi
- KILN · Wilmington, OH 129 mi
- KLVX · Louisville, KY 146 mi
- KFCX · Blacksburg, VA 172 mi
KJKL radar FAQ
How often does KJKL 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 KJKL?
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 KJKL down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KMRX, KRLX, KILN).