KVBX radar — Vandenberg AFB, CA
KVBX is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Vandenberg AFB area, operated with the NWS office LOX. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KVBX (Vandenberg AFB, California) |
|---|---|
| Location | 34.8390°, -120.3980° · Santa Barbara County |
| Elevation | 1,352 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 KVBX see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KVBX, 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 KVBX | 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 KVBX's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 13 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KVBX radar, all of them weak (EF0–EF1). They have been most common in March and February. The strongest was an EF1 on February 7, 2024, which passed about 36 miles north-northwest of the radar.
Hail: 3 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KVBX radar since 1955. The largest was 1.75-inch hail (golf ball size) on January 20, 1982.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 13 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 0 |
| Strongest tornado | EF1 · Feb 2024 |
| Busiest tornado month | March |
| Largest hail | 1.75 in · Jan 1982 |
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
- KVTX · Los Angeles, CA 75 mi
- KHNX · San Joaquin Valley, CA 111 mi
- KEYX · Edwards AFB, CA 162 mi
- KSOX · Santa Ana Mountains, CA 173 mi
- KMUX · San Francisco, CA 181 mi
KVBX radar FAQ
How often does KVBX 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 KVBX?
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 KVBX down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KVTX, KHNX, KEYX).