KDOX radar — Dover AFB, DE
KDOX is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Dover AFB area, operated with the NWS office PHI. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KDOX (Dover AFB, Delaware) |
|---|---|
| Location | 38.8260°, -75.4400° · Sussex County |
| Elevation | 161 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 KDOX see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KDOX, 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 KDOX | 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 KDOX's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 191 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KDOX radar, 30 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in July and August. The strongest was an EF3 on April 1, 2023, which passed about 1 mile south-southeast of the radar and caused 1 death. The most recent was an EF0 on July 31, 2025, which touched down about 57 miles west of the radar.
Hail: 275 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KDOX radar since 1955, 17 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 3.00-inch hail (teacup size) on May 16, 2022.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 191 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 30 |
| Strongest tornado | EF3 · Apr 2023 |
| Busiest tornado month | July |
| Largest hail | 3.00 in · May 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
- KDIX · Philadelphia, NJ 95 mi
- KLWX · Sterling, MD 111 mi
- KAKQ · Wakefield, VA 153 mi
- KOKX · Upton, NY 196 mi
- KCCX · State College, PA 199 mi
KDOX radar FAQ
How often does KDOX 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 KDOX?
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 KDOX down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KDIX, KLWX, KAKQ).