KBGM radar — Binghamton, NY
KBGM is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Binghamton area, operated with the NWS office BGM. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KBGM (Binghamton, New York) |
|---|---|
| Location | 42.2000°, -75.9850° · Broome County |
| Elevation | 1,703 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 KBGM see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KBGM, 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 KBGM | 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 KBGM's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 155 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KBGM radar, 26 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in July and May. The strongest was an F3 on June 2, 1998, which passed about 40 miles south of the radar and caused 2 deaths. The most recent was an EF0 on September 25, 2025, which passed about 59 miles east-southeast of the radar.
Hail: 805 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KBGM radar since 1955, 41 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 3.00-inch hail (teacup size) on June 1, 2022.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 155 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 26 |
| Strongest tornado | F3 · Jun 1998 |
| Busiest tornado month | July |
| Largest hail | 3.00 in · Jun 2022 |
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
- KENX · Albany, NY 102 mi
- KTYX · Montague, NY 109 mi
- KCCX · State College, PA 137 mi
- KBUF · Buffalo, NY 149 mi
- KDIX · Philadelphia, NJ 176 mi
KBGM radar FAQ
How often does KBGM 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 KBGM?
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 KBGM down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KENX, KTYX, KCCX).