It would be interesting to know how far above the ground is the lowest point that the radar can see for each 25 miles out, or so. As one goes away from the radar unit, the ground 'drops away' and the ability to see low precip or more importantly the debris kicked up by a tornado is less. I imagine some formula exists to calculate that, but at 50 miles out, what is the lowest the radar can see, and at 100, etc. I would guess that at a 100 miles the lowest the beam can pick up anything would be 3,000 to 4,000' but an official word or chart would be interesting.

I was watching the coverage of the tornados that hit Wichita earlier this year live on KWCH-TV's internet feed, they were using this new radar and it was amazing how they pinpointed the tornado, and were able to get warnings out to the actual people affected, which saved a lot of lives. Glad we are getting one also.

Reid: At the radar in Chanhassen 25 miles out from the radar site, the lowest 'tilt' or elevation of the radar beam passes at approx. 1741 feet. This means the radar beam cannot see anything lower than 1741 feet. At 50 miles out, it is approx. 4300 feet. At 100 miles away from the radar, at the lowest tilt it can see at approx. 12,000 feet. This is why storm spotters are so important, as it helps to verify 'ground truth' to anything the NWS sees on radar. Hope this helps.

@reid, The radar is going to be used for the twin cities, which are not 100 miles wide.

The new radar will serve a larger area than just the cities. I'm glad there is a significant upgrade to radar other than the new "high-def" ones used only at some airports, which have very little range.