KLBB radar — Lubbock, TX
KLBB is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Lubbock area, operated with the NWS office LUB. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KLBB (Lubbock, Texas) |
|---|---|
| Location | 33.6540°, -101.8140° · Lubbock County |
| Elevation | 3,376 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 KLBB see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KLBB, 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 KLBB | 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 KLBB's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 755 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KLBB radar, 93 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in May and June. The strongest was an F5 on May 11, 1970, which passed about 4 miles south-southeast of the radar and caused 26 deaths. The most recent was a tornado of unknown strength on June 6, 2025, which touched down about 42 miles west-southwest of the radar.
Hail: 2,464 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KLBB radar since 1955, 474 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 6.00-inch hail (grapefruit size) on May 25, 2025.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 755 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 93 |
| Strongest tornado | F5 · May 1970 |
| Busiest tornado month | May |
| Largest hail | 6.00 in · May 2025 |
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 KLBB
- Lubbock, TX 6 mi south-southwest
- Amarillo, TX 108 mi north
- Midland, TX 115 mi south
- Odessa, TX 129 mi south-southwest
- Abilene, TX 146 mi southeast
Nearby radars
- KAMA · Amarillo, TX 109 mi
- KMAF · Midland/Odessa, TX 120 mi
- KFDX · Cannon AFB, NM 123 mi
- KDYX · Dyess AFB, TX 167 mi
- KFDR · Frederick, OK 170 mi
KLBB radar FAQ
How often does KLBB 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 KLBB?
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 KLBB down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KAMA, KMAF, KFDX).