KVNX radar — Vance AFB, OK
KVNX is the National Weather Service's WSR-88D Doppler radar for the Vance AFB area, operated with the NWS office OUN. View it live in TALON — the loop, super-res reflectivity, storm-relative velocity, rotation and correlation coefficient.
| Station | KVNX (Vance AFB, Oklahoma) |
|---|---|
| Location | 36.7410°, -98.1280° · Alfalfa County |
| Elevation | 1,257 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 KVNX see?
A radar beam travels in a nearly straight line while the Earth curves away underneath it, so the farther a storm is from KVNX, 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 KVNX | 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 KVNX's range
Since 1950, NOAA has recorded 716 tornadoes within 60 miles of the KVNX radar, 142 of them rated EF2/F2 or stronger. They have been most common in May and April. The strongest was an F5 on May 25, 1955, which passed about 55 miles east of the radar and caused 80 deaths. The most recent was an EF0 on November 24, 2025, which touched down about 22 miles west-southwest of the radar.
Hail: 2,767 reports of hail 1 inch or larger within 60 miles of the KVNX radar since 1955, 393 of them 2 inches or larger. The largest was 8.00-inch hail (grapefruit size) on April 26, 1971.
| Tornadoes since 1950 | 716 |
| EF2/F2 or stronger | 142 |
| Strongest tornado | F5 · May 1955 |
| Busiest tornado month | May |
| Largest hail | 8.00 in · Apr 1971 |
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 KVNX
- Enid, OK 28 mi south-southeast
- Stillwater, OK 74 mi southeast
- Wichita, KS 79 mi north-northeast
- Hutchinson, KS 92 mi north
- Oklahoma City, OK 94 mi south-southeast
- Moore, OK 103 mi south-southeast
- Norman, OK 112 mi south-southeast
- Tulsa, OK 125 mi east-southeast
- Salina, KS 148 mi north
- Lawton, OK 148 mi south
Nearby radars
- KICT · Wichita, KS 73 mi
- KTLX · Oklahoma City, OK 108 mi
- KDDC · Dodge City, KS 123 mi
- KINX · Tulsa, OK 148 mi
- KFDR · Frederick, OK 171 mi
KVNX radar FAQ
How often does KVNX 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 KVNX?
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 KVNX down?
Radars occasionally go offline for maintenance. When one does, TALON's US radar map fills the gap from neighboring radars (KICT, KTLX, KDDC).