Eastern New Mexico
A few cities include: Carlsbad, Roswell and Tucumcari.
Local tornado season: Peaks between mid-May and mid-June.
Terrain: Plains east, increasingly hilly/mountainous west.
Road network: Best near the Texas border, sparser to the west.
Radar coverage: Large gaps in southeastern and northeastern New Mexico.
Eastern New Mexico is as far west as you can chase in the Southern Plains before reaching the mountains of the West. Tornadoes are not particularly common in eastern New Mexico, but there have been a few isolated cases of a photogenic tube or a fierce wedge tornado crossing along the countryside.
Large to very large hail is the most common hazard here, due in large part to relatively low freezing levels. Supercells will happen from time to time, especially if just enough moisture can be transported into the area. Due to the nature of the terrain, the potential for photogenic storm scenes can lure storm chasers to the area.
Terrain
The terrain of most of eastern New Mexico is relatively flat, although it does gradually slope up in elevation. Northeastern New Mexico has more hills and terrain obstacles than farther south, especially around the Raton Mesa. As you go west, anywhere in eastern New Mexico, you will eventually reach the mountains.
In most areas the terrain is relatively barren and resembles more of a desert than what one might expect in the Plains. If there are storms with strong outflow winds, for example, visibility can be significantly affected by blowing dust in eastern New Mexico.
Road networks
Most of far eastern New Mexico has a manageable road network. Here, roads tend to take relatively straight paths and one will find grid-type layouts close to the border with Texas. Once you travel west, road networks become increasingly spread out and inconsistent. Note that some paved roads in eastern New Mexico will have curves around terrain obstacles and sharp 90-degree turns.
Far southeastern New Mexico moves into oil field territory and some roads may not be navigable due to trucks, rail cars and road surface conditions. I-40 is really the only major freeway that passes through chaseable portions of eastern New Mexico. I-25 in northeastern New Mexico is effectively the western cutoff for areas that can be realistically storm chased.
Radar coverage
KFDX is the main radar site that covers eastern New Mexico, but it only covers roughly one-third of the area. Northeastern New Mexico has little to no radar coverage, as KPUX and KABX are out of range.
KMAF only covers a small portion of far southeastern New Mexico and mountains block what could have been coverage from the west by KEPZ and KHDX. As a result, if you are not familiar with this issue, expect some strange looking radar returns from storms that form in the lee of the Guadalupe and Sacramento mountains.
In summary, eastern New Mexico offers some favorability for storm chasing, but it won’t always be easy. Roads and terrain become increasingly rough as you move west, away from the Texas border, and radar coverage outside of central portions of eastern New Mexico is limited or non-existent.