KBOX radar — Boston, MA
KBOX is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Boston area, operated with the NWS office BOX. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KBOX (Boston, Massachusetts) |
|---|---|
| Location | 41.9560°, -71.1370° · Bristol County |
| Elevation | 230 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 KBOX see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KBOX, 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 KBOX | 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 KBOX's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 159 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KBOX radar, 30 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in August and July. The strongest was an F4 on June 9, 1953, which passed about 31 miles northwest of the radar and caused 94 deaths. The most recent was an EF0 on September 6, 2025, which touched down about 48 miles west-northwest of the radar.
Hail: 496 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KBOX radar since 1955, 32 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 3.50-inch hail (teacup size) on August 28, 1965.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 159 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 30 |
| Strongest tornado | F4 · Jun 1953 |
| Busiest tornado month | August |
| Largest hail | 3.50 in · Aug 1965 |
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
- KOKX · Upton, NY 117 mi
- KGYX · Portland, ME 141 mi
- KENX · Albany, NY 156 mi
- KCXX · Burlington, VT 204 mi
- KDIX · Philadelphia, NJ 220 mi
KBOX radar FAQ
How often does KBOX 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 KBOX?
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 KBOX down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KOKX, KGYX, KENX).