KVAX radar — Moody AFB, GA
KVAX is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Moody AFB area, operated with the NWS office TAE. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KVAX (Moody AFB, Georgia) |
|---|---|
| Location | 30.8900°, -83.0020° · Lanier County |
| Elevation | 328 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 KVAX see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KVAX, 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 KVAX | 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 KVAX's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 370 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KVAX radar, 60 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in April and March. The strongest was an EF3 on January 22, 2017, which passed about 22 miles north-northwest of the radar and caused 11 deaths. The most recent was an EF1 on April 7, 2025, which touched down about 58 miles west-northwest of the radar.
Hail: 463 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KVAX radar since 1955, 41 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 4.00-inch hail (softball size) on January 28, 1995.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 370 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 60 |
| Strongest tornado | EF3 · Jan 2017 |
| Busiest tornado month | April |
| Largest hail | 4.00 in · Jan 1995 |
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 KVAX
- Jacksonville, FL 89 mi east-southeast
Nearby radars
- KJAX · Jacksonville, FL 82 mi
- KTLH · Tallahassee, FL 86 mi
- KJGX · Robins AFB, GA 125 mi
- KEOX · Fort Rucker, AL 150 mi
- KCLX · Charleston, SC 168 mi
KVAX radar FAQ
How often does KVAX 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 KVAX?
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 KVAX down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KJAX, KTLH, KJGX).