KTBW radar — Tampa, FL
KTBW is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Tampa area, operated with the NWS office TBW. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KTBW (Tampa, Florida) |
|---|---|
| Location | 27.7050°, -82.4020° · Hillsborough County |
| Elevation | 121 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 KTBW see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KTBW, 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 KTBW | 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 KTBW's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 883 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KTBW radar, 78 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in June and July. The strongest was an F4 on April 4, 1966, which passed about 21 miles north-northwest of the radar and caused 11 deaths. The most recent was an EF0 on September 25, 2025, which touched down about 19 miles northwest of the radar.
Hail: 460 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KTBW radar since 1955, 23 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 4.50-inch hail (grapefruit size) on March 30, 1996.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 883 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 78 |
| Strongest tornado | F4 · Apr 1966 |
| Busiest tornado month | June |
| Largest hail | 4.50 in · Mar 1996 |
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 KTBW
- Tampa, FL 17 mi north
- Orlando, FL 85 mi northeast
Nearby radars
- KMLB · Melbourne, FL 110 mi
- KAMX · Miami, FL 190 mi
- KJAX · Jacksonville, FL 197 mi
- KBYX · Key West, FL 219 mi
- KTLH · Tallahassee, FL 219 mi
KTBW radar FAQ
How often does KTBW 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 KTBW?
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 KTBW down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KMLB, KAMX, KJAX).