KSFX radar — Pocatello, ID
KSFX is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Pocatello area, operated with the NWS office PIH. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KSFX (Pocatello, Idaho) |
|---|---|
| Location | 43.1060°, -112.6860° · Power County |
| Elevation | 4,537 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 KSFX see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KSFX, 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 KSFX | 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 KSFX's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 80 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KSFX radar, 3 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in June and May. The strongest was an F2 on April 7, 1978, which touched down about 43 miles northeast of the radar. The most recent was an EF0 on October 27, 2025, which touched down about 55 miles northeast of the radar.
Hail: 157 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KSFX radar since 1955, 3 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 2.75-inch hail (baseball size) on September 13, 2001.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 80 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 3 |
| Strongest tornado | F2 · Apr 1978 |
| Busiest tornado month | June |
| Largest hail | 2.75 in · Sep 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.
Nearby radars
- KMTX · Salt Lake City, UT 128 mi
- KCBX · Boise, ID 180 mi
- KRIW · Riverton, WY 212 mi
- KLRX · Elko, NV 267 mi
- KBLX · Billings, MT 276 mi
KSFX radar FAQ
How often does KSFX 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 KSFX?
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 KSFX down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KMTX, KCBX, KRIW).