Eastern Colorado
A few cities include: Fort Morgan, Lamar and Limon.
Local tornado season: Peaks mid-May through June; extends into July in northeastern Colorado.
Terrain: Relatively flat; more hills/trees southeast.
Road network: Usually manageable, more gaps in southeastern Colorado.
Radar coverage: Good in most areas outside of southeastern Colorado.
Some of the most photogenic tornadoes over the past few decades have occurred in eastern Colorado. While most tornadoes are relatively short-lived here and hybrid in nature (sometimes high-based and/or associated with low-precipitation supercells), it does not take much for upslope wind trajectories to spin off tornadoes. In fact, the area near and just northeast of Denver averages more tornadoes per year than any other place in the central United States.
Hail is a unique hazard in eastern Colorado. Close to the I-25 corridor, hail is very common, even when surface temperatures are relatively cool (in the 50s). While it may hail a lot along the urban corridor, most of this hail is small enough to not do any major damage. It can, however, bring traffic to a screeching halt until snow plows come to the rescue.
Large, more destructive hail becomes increasingly favored farther east, especially near the Kansas border. Even so, eastern Colorado is a fickle area, as some storm setups fail to produce anything noteworthy or photogenic, while other times a seemingly marginal setup results in the storm chase of a lifetime. Non-supercell tornadoes (usually landspouts) are also common in eastern Colorado, which provides some variety for storm chasers in the area.
Terrain
Eastern Colorado is relatively flat, but it is higher terrain, averaging 4000 to 5000 feet in elevation. A few larger rivers cut through the area, most notably the Platte River and Arkansas River. Both areas have a valley that can be a bit tricky to navigate, especially if there has been recent, excessive rainfall. In that situation, especially near the Platte River, roads and some bridges may be impassable. Far southern parts of eastern Colorado are more hilly and hard to navigate, especially around the rim of the Raton Mesa in Las Animas County.
Road network
The road network in eastern Colorado is far from perfect. There are multiple state and U.S. highways to work with, especially as you approach the Kansas border. If one wants to get close to a storm, the vast majority of the secondary roads are comprised of dirt of varying grades. Some of these roads can be impassable, even if it has not recently rained. Without a detailed map, it can be tough to tell from GPS if a state highway is paved or unpaved. South of I-70, the gaps in the road network worsen with westward extent. Northeastern Colorado has a fair road network throughout, although there are some modest gaps to work around.
The Interstate-25 corridor serves as the effective westward bound of storm chase territory in eastern Colorado. Go more than a few miles west of I-25 and you’re already into the mountains. I-70 connects Denver to western Kansas and is a common corridor to begin a storm chase. I-70 has exits for several north-south oriented paved roads that can be used to approach a storm. I-76 travels in a northeast trajectory from Denver to Nebraska, along the Platte River.
Radar coverage
Despite having four radars in the area, there are some sizable gaps in radar coverage in eastern Colorado. KCYS, KFTG and KPUX cover most of the I-25 corridor and points to the immediate east. KGLD offers good radar coverage to east-central Colorado and parts of northeastern Colorado, mainly southeast of I-76. Near and northwest of I-76 in northeastern Colorado is where there is little to no radar coverage. Radar coverage is not good in southeastern Colorado either, as once you get southeast of La Junta, you lose range from KPUX.
In summary, eastern Colorado can be a rewarding or disappointing area to storm chase, as setups can drastically under or over-perform expectation. Since the terrain is relatively flat, despite gaps in the road network, you can usually get a good visual on a storm if you are within 50 miles. Keep in mind that radar coverage can be limited in southeastern and far northeastern Colorado.