KMBX radar — Minot AFB, ND
KMBX is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Minot AFB area, operated with the NWS office BIS. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KMBX (Minot AFB, North Dakota) |
|---|---|
| Location | 48.3930°, -100.8640° · McHenry County |
| Elevation | 1,588 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 KMBX see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KMBX, 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 KMBX | 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 KMBX's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 205 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KMBX radar, 19 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in July and June. The strongest was an F4 on July 5, 1955, which passed about 54 miles west-northwest of the radar. The most recent was an EF1 on September 14, 2025, which passed about 55 miles south of the radar.
Hail: 777 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KMBX radar since 1955, 93 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 4.00-inch hail (softball size) on June 6, 2004.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 205 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 19 |
| Strongest tornado | F4 · Jul 1955 |
| Busiest tornado month | July |
| Largest hail | 4.00 in · Jun 2004 |
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
- KBIS · Bismarck, ND 112 mi
- KMVX · Grand Forks, ND 174 mi
- KABR · Aberdeen, SD 234 mi
- KGGW · Glasgow, MT 265 mi
- KUDX · Rapid City, SD 309 mi
KMBX radar FAQ
How often does KMBX 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 KMBX?
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 KMBX down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KBIS, KMVX, KABR).