KLNX radar — North Platte, NE
KLNX is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the North Platte area, operated with the NWS office LBF. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KLNX (North Platte, Nebraska) |
|---|---|
| Location | 41.9580°, -100.5760° · Thomas County |
| Elevation | 3,110 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 KLNX see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KLNX, 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 KLNX | 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 KLNX's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 249 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KLNX radar, 31 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in June and May. The strongest was an F4 on October 29, 1956, which passed about 26 miles southeast of the radar. The most recent was a tornado of unknown strength on August 3, 2025, which touched down about 49 miles southwest of the radar.
Hail: 2,026 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KLNX radar since 1955, 258 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 5.00-inch hail (grapefruit size) on June 17, 2014.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 249 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 31 |
| Strongest tornado | F4 · Oct 1956 |
| Busiest tornado month | June |
| Largest hail | 5.00 in · Jun 2014 |
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 KLNX
- Grand Island, NE 136 mi east-southeast
Nearby radars
- KUEX · Hastings, NE 158 mi
- KUDX · Rapid City, SD 188 mi
- KGLD · Goodland, KS 188 mi
- KOAX · Omaha, NE 222 mi
- KFSD · Sioux Falls, SD 225 mi
KLNX radar FAQ
How often does KLNX 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 KLNX?
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 KLNX down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KUEX, KUDX, KGLD).