KMAF radar — Midland/Odessa, TX
KMAF is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Midland/Odessa area, operated with the NWS office MAF. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KMAF (Midland/Odessa, Texas) |
|---|---|
| Location | 31.9430°, -102.1890° · Midland County |
| Elevation | 2,959 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 KMAF see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KMAF, 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 KMAF | 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 KMAF's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 353 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KMAF radar, 42 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in May and June. The strongest was an F3 on April 19, 1977, which passed about 53 miles southwest of the radar. The most recent was an EF1 on May 29, 2025, which passed about 58 miles north of the radar.
Hail: 1,828 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KMAF radar since 1955, 314 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 5.00-inch hail (grapefruit size) on June 14, 2017.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 353 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 42 |
| Strongest tornado | F3 · Apr 1977 |
| Busiest tornado month | May |
| Largest hail | 5.00 in · Jun 2017 |
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.
Cities covered by KMAF
- Midland, TX 8 mi east-northeast
- Odessa, TX 12 mi west-southwest
- Lubbock, TX 115 mi north
- Abilene, TX 148 mi east-northeast
Nearby radars
- KSJT · San Angelo, TX 107 mi
- KLBB · Lubbock, TX 120 mi
- KDYX · Dyess AFB, TX 176 mi
- KFDX · Cannon AFB, NM 203 mi
- KDFX · Laughlin AFB, TX 217 mi
KMAF radar FAQ
How often does KMAF 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 KMAF?
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 KMAF down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KSJT, KLBB, KDYX).