KMKX radar — Milwaukee/Sullivan, WI
KMKX is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Milwaukee/Sullivan area, operated with the NWS office MKX. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KMKX (Milwaukee/Sullivan, Wisconsin) |
|---|---|
| Location | 42.9678°, -88.5506° · Jefferson County |
| Elevation | 958 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 KMKX see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KMKX, 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 KMKX | 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 KMKX's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 530 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KMKX radar, 112 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in June and July. The strongest was an F5 on June 7, 1984, which passed about 53 miles west-northwest of the radar and caused 9 deaths. The most recent was an EF0 on July 16, 2025, which touched down about 41 miles north-northwest of the radar.
Hail: 1,743 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KMKX radar since 1955, 173 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 4.25-inch hail (softball size) on May 11, 2011.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 530 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 112 |
| Strongest tornado | F5 · Jun 1984 |
| Busiest tornado month | June |
| Largest hail | 4.25 in · May 2011 |
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 KMKX
- Chicago, IL 89 mi south-southeast
- Davenport, IA 144 mi southwest
- Peoria, IL 166 mi south-southwest
- Cedar Rapids, IA 173 mi west-southwest
Nearby radars
- KLOT · Chicago, IL 97 mi
- KGRB · Green Bay, WI 108 mi
- KDVN · Quad Cities, IA 140 mi
- KARX · La Crosse, WI 145 mi
- KGRR · Grand Rapids, MI 152 mi
KMKX radar FAQ
How often does KMKX 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 KMKX?
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 KMKX down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KLOT, KGRB, KDVN).