KMAX radar — Medford, OR
KMAX is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Medford area, operated with the NWS office MFR. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KMAX (Medford, Oregon) |
|---|---|
| Location | 42.0810°, -122.7170° · Jackson County |
| Elevation | 7,552 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 KMAX see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KMAX, 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 KMAX | 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 KMAX's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 4 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KMAX radar, all of them weak (EF0–EF1). They have been most common in May and April. The strongest was an F1 on May 19, 1962, which touched down about 46 miles east of the radar. The most recent was an EF0 on April 17, 2007, which touched down about 42 miles east of the radar.
Hail: 67 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KMAX radar since 1955, 2 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 2.00-inch hail (hen egg size) on July 26, 2010.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 4 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 0 |
| Strongest tornado | F1 · May 1962 |
| Busiest tornado month | May |
| Largest hail | 2.00 in · Jul 2010 |
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
- KBHX · Eureka, CA 136 mi
- KBBX · Beale AFB, CA 187 mi
- KRGX · Reno, NV 234 mi
- KRTX · Portland, OR 251 mi
- KDAX · Sacramento, CA 253 mi
KMAX radar FAQ
How often does KMAX 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 KMAX?
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 KMAX down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KBHX, KBBX, KRGX).