KMQT radar — Marquette, MI
KMQT is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Marquette area, operated with the NWS office MQT. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KMQT (Marquette, Michigan) |
|---|---|
| Location | 46.5310°, -87.5480° · Marquette County |
| Elevation | 1,522 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 KMQT see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KMQT, 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 KMQT | 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 KMQT's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 46 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KMQT radar, 9 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in July and June. The strongest was an F3 on July 4, 1986, which passed about 59 miles south-southwest of the radar. The most recent was an EF1 on June 15, 2022, which touched down about 60 miles south of the radar.
Hail: 324 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KMQT radar since 1955, 24 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 3.50-inch hail (teacup size) on July 19, 1978.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 46 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 9 |
| Strongest tornado | F3 · Jul 1986 |
| Busiest tornado month | July |
| Largest hail | 3.50 in · Jul 1978 |
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
- KGRB · Green Bay, WI 143 mi
- KAPX · Gaylord, MI 177 mi
- KDLH · Duluth, MN 222 mi
- KMKX · Milwaukee/Sullivan, WI 251 mi
- KARX · La Crosse, WI 258 mi
KMQT radar FAQ
How often does KMQT 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 KMQT?
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 KMQT down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KGRB, KAPX, KDLH).