KTWX radar — Topeka, KS
KTWX is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Topeka area, operated with the NWS office TOP. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KTWX (Topeka, Kansas) |
|---|---|
| Location | 38.9970°, -96.2320° · Wabaunsee County |
| Elevation | 1,414 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 KTWX see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KTWX, 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 KTWX | 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 KTWX's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 628 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KTWX radar, 125 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in May and June. The strongest was an F5 on May 20, 1957, which passed about 55 miles southeast of the radar and caused 44 deaths. The most recent was an EF0 on May 19, 2025, which touched down about 12 miles southwest of the radar.
Hail: 3,764 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KTWX radar since 1955, 471 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 5.25-inch hail (grapefruit size) on May 21, 2011.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 628 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 125 |
| Strongest tornado | F5 · May 1957 |
| Busiest tornado month | May |
| Largest hail | 5.25 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 KTWX
- Topeka, KS 30 mi east
- Salina, KS 75 mi west
- Overland Park, KS 84 mi east
- Kansas City, KS 86 mi east
- Kansas City, MO 89 mi east
- Wichita, KS 108 mi south-southwest
- Hutchinson, KS 112 mi southwest
- Lincoln, NE 128 mi north
- Omaha, NE 157 mi north
- Joplin, MO 162 mi southeast
- Grand Island, NE 174 mi northwest
Nearby radars
- KEAX · Kansas City, MO 107 mi
- KICT · Wichita, KS 114 mi
- KUEX · Hastings, NE 149 mi
- KOAX · Omaha, NE 161 mi
- KVNX · Vance AFB, OK 187 mi
KTWX radar FAQ
How often does KTWX 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 KTWX?
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 KTWX down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KEAX, KICT, KUEX).