KNQA radar — Memphis, TN
KNQA is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Memphis area, operated with the NWS office MEG. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KNQA (Memphis, Tennessee) |
|---|---|
| Location | 35.3450°, -89.8730° · Shelby County |
| Elevation | 433 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 KNQA see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KNQA, 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 KNQA | 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 KNQA's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 511 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KNQA radar, 148 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in April and May. The strongest was an F4 on February 21, 1971, which passed about 56 miles southeast of the radar and caused 58 deaths. The most recent was an EF0 on May 20, 2025, which touched down about 55 miles east-northeast of the radar.
Hail: 1,083 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KNQA radar since 1955, 81 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 4.25-inch hail (softball size) on April 7, 2006.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 511 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 148 |
| Strongest tornado | F4 · Feb 1971 |
| Busiest tornado month | April |
| Largest hail | 4.25 in · Apr 2006 |
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 KNQA
- Memphis, TN 17 mi southwest
- Tupelo, MS 100 mi southeast
- Little Rock, AR 143 mi west-southwest
- Nashville, TN 182 mi east-northeast
Nearby radars
- KGWX · Columbus AFB, MS 133 mi
- KPAH · Paducah, KY 134 mi
- KLZK · Little Rock, AR 140 mi
- KHPX · Fort Campbell, KY 174 mi
- KOHX · Nashville, TN 196 mi
KNQA radar FAQ
How often does KNQA 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 KNQA?
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 KNQA down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KGWX, KPAH, KLZK).