Melrose, New Mexico
7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1973. It stands in the Melrose census division. It lies in ZIP code area 88124. The Survey maps it on the Melrose West quadrangle. 622 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 4,413 feet above sea level.
Population over time
3 figuresMelrose fell from 736 to 622 between 2000 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 736 | |
| 2010 | 651 | -85 (-12%) |
| 2020 | 622 | -29 (-4%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
4 surveys from 7 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1954 USGS Clovis quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1957 USGS Melrose quadrangle1:62500
- 1958 USGS Clovis quadrangle1:250000
- 1973 USGS Melrose West quadrangle1:24000
Photographs
4 photographs, 1943Taken for the Office of War Information and the Farm Security Administration, who photographed the country between 1935 and 1944. Works of United States government photographers, with no known restriction on use. Each opens its catalogue record.
Delano, Jack, 1943. Library of Congress
Delano, Jack, 1943. Library of Congress
Delano, Jack, 1943. Library of Congress
Delano, Jack, 1943. Library of Congress
Fires near this place
28 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 28 fires within 5 miles of Melrose between 1993 and 2018, burning about 5,500 acres in total. 4 started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 21 |
| Natural | 4 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Smoking | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13 August 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | New Mexico State Forestry Division | KRIDER |
| 10 August 2006 | Natural | 85 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | not named |
| 1 August 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 40 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | NEWMAN |
| 1 August 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | LACE |
| 2 July 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | CURRYLINE |
| 14 July 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | TINGLEY |
| 13 July 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | 108 |
| 13 July 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | FOSTER |
Mines and quarries near this place
6 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Melrose: 6 unknowns. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Materials Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Materials Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Materials Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Materials Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Materials Pit 74-8-S | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Two Materials Pits | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown |
Storms near this place
39 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Melrose in 39 storm reports between 1993 and 2024: 25 hail, 7 thunderstorm wind, 3 tornado, 2 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 2002 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melrose | $300,000 | no account filed |
| June 2012 | Hail | Melrose | $100,000 | Softball size hail reported in Melrose. |
| October 1998 | Hail | Melrose | $100,000 | no account filed |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melrose | $50,000 | Thunderstorm wind gusts tore off a large section of roofing from a barn in Melrose. A nearby Melrose RAWS site recorded a peak wind gust of 61 mph. Damage amounts are a rough estimate. |
| October 2015 | Hail | Melrose | $8,000 | Pea to golf ball size hail. Through secondhand information, observer reported a few broken windows around town. |
| August 2017 | Flash Flood | Melrose | $5,000 | Torrential rainfall over a one to two hour period resulted in flash flooding along parts of U.S. Highway 60/84 between Cannon AFB and Melrose. One foot of water was reported on roadways in Melrose. Minor damage was reported to a county road near Melrose. |
| June 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melrose | $5,000 | The roof was completely torn off a storage building and a wood fence was blown down. |
| August 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melrose | $1,000 | SKYWARN Spotter observed partial roof damage to a structure from strong storms that struck the area. However, preexisting structural issues may have contributed to the damage. Radar estimated wind gusts to around 40 mph. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melrose | $250 | Trained spotter reported that there was a roof blown off oh his shed from a severe storm moving through the area. |
| November 2024 | Hail | Melrose | - | Lots of hail up to quarter size covering the ground in Melrose. |
| May 2021 | Tornado (EF0) | Melrose | - | Multiple spotters reported a brief tornado north of Melrose. No damage was reported. |
| May 2019 | Hail | Melrose | - | Nickel size hail reported in Melrose. |
| May 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melrose | - | Thunderstorm wind gusts were estimated to be at least 60 mph in Melrose. |
| May 2016 | Hail | Melrose | - | Golfball size hail just west of State Road 268 and County Road 18 north of Melrose. |
| May 2015 | Hail | Melrose | - | Spotter reported nickel sized hail. |
| June 2012 | Hail | Melrose | - | Golf ball size hail reported in Melrose. Various reports of this event were received. |
| July 2009 | Hail | Melrose | - | The hail size ranged from peas to nickels. |
| September 2003 | Flash Flood | Melrose | - | Heavy rain of near 3 inches in 90 minutes produced a deluge near Melrose with numerous ditches overflowing into state and county roads. |
| June 2003 | Tornado (F0) | Melrose | - | Brief small tornado reported north of Melrose. |
| October 1998 | Funnel Cloud | Melrose | - | Observer reported funnel cloud following large hail. |
| June 1998 | Hail | Melrose | - | Hail ranged from 1 inch to 3 inches in diameter during a 17 minute period at Melrose. |
| October 1997 | Heavy Rain | Melrose | - | About 6 inches of water was reported over the roadway just south of Melrose on State Road 267. |
| September 1993 | Hail | Melrose | - | Dime-size hail was reported in Melrose by a SkyWarn spotter. |
| October 2015 | Hail | Melrose | - | no account filed |
| September 2014 | Hail | Melrose | - | no account filed |
| September 2011 | Hail | Melrose | - | no account filed |
| June 2007 | Hail | Melrose | - | no account filed |
| April 2003 | Hail | Melrose | - | no account filed |
| June 2003 | Hail | Melrose | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Hail | Melrose | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Hail | Melrose | - | no account filed |
| June 2002 | Tornado (F0) | Melrose | - | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Hail | Melrose | - | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Hail | Melrose | - | no account filed |
| April 1999 | Hail | Melrose | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Hail | Melrose | - | no account filed |
| October 1998 | Hail | Melrose | - | no account filed |
| June 1996 | Hail | Melrose | - | no account filed |
| July 1994 | Thunderstorm Wind | Melrose | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Saint Vrain | 7.6 miles | 8 | |
| Grier | 12.5 miles | 8 | |
| Weber City | 14.0 miles | 7 | |
| Field | 14.1 miles | 6 | |
| Ranchvale | 17.2 miles | 8 | |
| Portair | 17.6 miles | 8 | |
| Gallaher | 17.9 miles | 8 | |
| Clovis | 22.7 miles | 9 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Melrose | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2292073 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 915864. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.



