Beacon Hill, WA Live Doppler Radar

Live radar for Beacon Hill, Cowlitz County: every NWS radar combined, rain, snow and ice colors, flash-flood risk, storm tracks and official warnings.

Open live radar for Beacon Hill What TALON shows

What weather hits Beacon Hill?

Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged river or areal flooding on 21 days in the Cowlitz County Lowlands forecast zone and Cowlitz County — the most common reported hazard around Beacon Hill, mostly in January and December. Next come damaging thunderstorm winds (3 days) and debris flows (2 days).

Hazard	Days reported	Most recent	Worst on record
Flooding	21	Dec 2023	Sep 17, 2020 · $250 million damage
Damaging thunderstorm winds	3	Jan 2021	—
Debris flows	2	Apr 2023	Apr 10, 2023 · $100,000 damage
Heavy snow & winter storms	1	Feb 2025	Feb 13, 2025 · $44,000 damage
Lightning casualties & damage	1	Sep 2019	—

Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, 1996–2026 (the latest year is partial). A "day" is a date with at least one report in the Cowlitz County Lowlands forecast zone and Cowlitz County; damage is as reported, not adjusted for inflation.

How much snow does Beacon Hill get?

A normal year brings about 2.3 inches of snow to Beacon Hill, based on NOAA's 1991–2020 climate normals for the Clatskanie weather station 14.3 miles away. The snowiest month is usually December (0.8 in).

Oct	Nov	Dec	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May
0.0	0.1	0.8	0.5	0.7	0.2	0.0	0.0

Normal snowfall in inches. TALON Pro compares this season's snow at your location with these normals as winter goes on.

Which radars cover Beacon Hill?

The closest NEXRAD Doppler radar is KRTX (Portland, OR), about 32 miles south. Radar beams climb as they travel, so the height of the lowest scan over town decides how low in a storm the radar can see.

Radar	Distance	Lowest beam over Beacon Hill	View
KRTX Portland, OR	32 mi south	2,000 ft	Excellent — the lowest scan sees close to the ground
KLGX Langley Hill, WA	86 mi northwest	7,700 ft	Fair — the beam can pass over shallow snow and low-level rotation
KATX Seattle/Tacoma, WA	141 mi north	16,500 ft	Limited — the beam overshoots the lowest part of storms

Beam height is the center of the 0.5° scan above the radar, with standard refraction. Mountains near a radar can block it further.

Tornado & hail history near Beacon Hill

Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 12 tornadoes within 25 miles of Beacon Hill. Most came in October and November. The strongest was an F1 on June 29, 1989, which touched down about 23 miles south-southeast of town. The most recent was an EF0 on October 28, 2024, which touched down about 4 miles southwest of town.

Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center — tornadoes 1950–2025, hail 1955–2025. Distances are to each tornado's track; ratings before February 2007 use the original Fujita scale.

On TALON you get Beacon Hill's live radar loop, rain/snow/ice colors, flash-flood risk, storm tracks with arrival times and NWS warnings free; close-up radar and rotation detection are part of TALON Pro.

Beacon Hill radar FAQ

Where is the nearest weather radar to Beacon Hill, WA?

KRTX (Portland, OR), about 32 miles south. KLGX (Langley Hill, WA) is 86 miles away and also covers the area.

How often does Beacon Hill flood?

Since 1996 the National Weather Service has logged river or areal flooding on 21 days in the Cowlitz County Lowlands forecast zone and Cowlitz County. TALON's free flash-flood risk layer shows, every 2 minutes, how close the rain that has fallen is to what it takes to flood — turn it on under Layers.

Is TALON's radar for Beacon Hill free?

Yes — the US radar loop, rain/snow/ice colors, flash-flood risk, storm tracks and NWS warnings are free in any browser. Close-up radar, rotation detection and longer forecasts are part of TALON Pro.

Should I rely on radar for my safety?

No app replaces official warnings. When the National Weather Service issues a warning for Beacon Hill, follow it right away — see watch vs. warning.

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