KLWX radar — Sterling, MD
KLWX is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Sterling area, operated with the NWS office LWX. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KLWX (Sterling, Maryland) |
|---|---|
| Location | 38.9760°, -77.4870° · Montgomery County |
| Elevation | 404 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 KLWX see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KLWX, 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 KLWX | 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 KLWX's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 452 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KLWX radar, 59 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in June and July. The strongest was an F4 on April 28, 2002, which passed about 34 miles south-southeast of the radar and caused 3 deaths. The most recent was an EF0 on July 31, 2025, which touched down about 54 miles east of the radar.
Hail: 1,593 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KLWX radar since 1955, 85 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 5.00-inch hail (grapefruit size) on July 2, 1968.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 452 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 59 |
| Strongest tornado | F4 · Apr 2002 |
| Busiest tornado month | June |
| Largest hail | 5.00 in · Jul 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.
Nearby radars
- KDOX · Dover AFB, DE 111 mi
- KCCX · State College, PA 137 mi
- KAKQ · Wakefield, VA 140 mi
- KDIX · Philadelphia, NJ 177 mi
- KPBZ · Pittsburgh, PA 181 mi
KLWX radar FAQ
How often does KLWX 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 KLWX?
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 KLWX down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KDOX, KCCX, KAKQ).