KMVX radar — Grand Forks, ND
KMVX is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Grand Forks area, operated with the NWS office FGF. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KMVX (Grand Forks, North Dakota) |
|---|---|
| Location | 47.5280°, -97.3250° · Traill County |
| Elevation | 1,079 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 KMVX see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KMVX, 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 KMVX | 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 KMVX's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 517 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KMVX radar, 75 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in June and July. The strongest was an F5 on June 20, 1957, which passed about 43 miles south of the radar and caused 10 deaths. The most recent was an EF1 on August 8, 2025, which touched down about 44 miles west-southwest of the radar.
Hail: 1,487 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KMVX radar since 1955, 144 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 4.50-inch hail (grapefruit size) on July 17, 2001.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 517 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 75 |
| Strongest tornado | F5 · Jun 1957 |
| Busiest tornado month | June |
| Largest hail | 4.50 in · Jul 2001 |
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 KMVX
- Fargo, ND 52 mi south-southeast
Nearby radars
- KABR · Aberdeen, SD 152 mi
- KBIS · Bismarck, ND 170 mi
- KMBX · Minot AFB, ND 174 mi
- KDLH · Duluth, MN 245 mi
- KMPX · Minneapolis, MN 258 mi
KMVX radar FAQ
How often does KMVX 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 KMVX?
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 KMVX down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KABR, KBIS, KMBX).