KBUF radar — Buffalo, NY
KBUF is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Buffalo area, operated with the NWS office BUF. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KBUF (Buffalo, New York) |
|---|---|
| Location | 42.9490°, -78.7370° · Erie County |
| Elevation | 787 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 KBUF see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KBUF, 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 KBUF | 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 KBUF's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 86 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KBUF radar, 22 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in July and September. The strongest was an F3 on May 2, 1983, which passed about 47 miles south-southwest of the radar and caused 2 deaths. The most recent was an EF1 on June 9, 2025, which touched down about 49 miles south of the radar.
Hail: 247 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KBUF radar since 1955, 12 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 4.00-inch hail (softball size) on September 27, 1998.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 86 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 22 |
| Strongest tornado | F3 · May 1983 |
| Busiest tornado month | July |
| Largest hail | 4.00 in · Sep 1998 |
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
- KCCX · State College, PA 145 mi
- KBGM · Binghamton, NY 149 mi
- KTYX · Montague, NY 163 mi
- KPBZ · Pittsburgh, PA 184 mi
- KCLE · Cleveland, OH 192 mi
KBUF radar FAQ
How often does KBUF 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 KBUF?
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 KBUF down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KCCX, KBGM, KTYX).