KPUX radar — Pueblo, CO
KPUX is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Pueblo area, operated with the NWS office PUB. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KPUX (Pueblo, Colorado) |
|---|---|
| Location | 38.4600°, -104.1810° · Pueblo County |
| Elevation | 5,361 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 KPUX see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KPUX, 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 KPUX | 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 KPUX's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 329 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KPUX radar, 24 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in June and May. The strongest was an F3 on June 6, 1990, which passed about 55 miles north-northeast of the radar. The most recent was an EF1 on August 9, 2024, which touched down about 57 miles west-northwest of the radar.
Hail: 2,556 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KPUX radar since 1955, 303 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 4.50-inch hail (grapefruit size) on August 9, 2004.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 329 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 24 |
| Strongest tornado | F3 · Jun 1990 |
| Busiest tornado month | June |
| Largest hail | 4.50 in · Aug 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.
Cities covered by KPUX
- Colorado Springs, CO 43 mi northwest
- Denver, CO 98 mi north-northwest
Nearby radars
- KFTG · Denver/Boulder, CO 94 mi
- KGLD · Goodland, KS 147 mi
- KCYS · Cheyenne, WY 189 mi
- KGJX · Grand Junction, CO 221 mi
- KDDC · Dodge City, KS 234 mi
KPUX radar FAQ
How often does KPUX 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 KPUX?
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 KPUX down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KFTG, KGLD, KCYS).