KRGX radar — Reno, NV
KRGX is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Reno area, operated with the NWS office REV. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KRGX (Reno, Nevada) |
|---|---|
| Location | 39.7540°, -119.4620° · Washoe County |
| Elevation | 8,396 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 KRGX see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KRGX, 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 KRGX | 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 KRGX's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 26 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KRGX radar, all of them weak (EF0–EF1). They have been most common in June and August. The strongest was an F1 on May 26, 1964, which touched down about 54 miles south-southeast of the radar. The most recent was an EF1 on August 15, 2020, which touched down about 35 miles west of the radar.
Hail: 61 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KRGX radar since 1955, 2 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 2.75-inch hail (baseball size) on June 24, 2005.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 26 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 0 |
| Strongest tornado | F1 · May 1964 |
| Busiest tornado month | June |
| Largest hail | 2.75 in · Jun 2005 |
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
- KBBX · Beale AFB, CA 117 mi
- KDAX · Sacramento, CA 147 mi
- KLRX · Elko, NV 156 mi
- KMUX · San Francisco, CA 223 mi
- KMAX · Medford, OR 234 mi
KRGX radar FAQ
How often does KRGX 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 KRGX?
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 KRGX down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KBBX, KDAX, KLRX).