KMLB radar — Melbourne, FL
KMLB is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Melbourne area, operated with the NWS office MLB. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KMLB (Melbourne, Florida) |
|---|---|
| Location | 28.1130°, -80.6540° · Brevard County |
| Elevation | 115 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 KMLB see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KMLB, 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 KMLB | 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 KMLB's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 395 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KMLB radar, 57 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in June and August. The strongest was an F4 on April 4, 1966, which passed about 21 miles north-northwest of the radar and caused 11 deaths. The most recent was an EF0 on September 7, 2025, which touched down about 10 miles south of the radar.
Hail: 499 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KMLB radar since 1955, 30 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 4.50-inch hail (grapefruit size) on March 30, 1996.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 395 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 57 |
| Strongest tornado | F4 · Apr 1966 |
| Busiest tornado month | June |
| Largest hail | 4.50 in · Mar 1996 |
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 KMLB
- Orlando, FL 53 mi northwest
- Tampa, FL 111 mi west
- Jacksonville, FL 165 mi north-northwest
- Miami, FL 165 mi south
Nearby radars
- KTBW · Tampa, FL 110 mi
- KAMX · Miami, FL 174 mi
- KJAX · Jacksonville, FL 176 mi
- KVAX · Moody AFB, GA 238 mi
- KBYX · Key West, FL 251 mi
KMLB radar FAQ
How often does KMLB 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 KMLB?
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 KMLB down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KTBW, KAMX, KJAX).