Tolar, New Mexico
7 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1954 and the latest in 1973. It stands in the Elida census division. It lies in ZIP code area 88134. The Survey maps it on the Tolar quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
3 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
- 1958 USGS Clovis quadrangle1:250000
- 1973 USGS Tolar quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
Photographs
3 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
Fires near this place
33 since 1993Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 33 fires within 5 miles of Tolar between 1993 and 2018, burning about 6,464 acres in total. 13 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 |
|---|---|
| Natural | 13 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 10 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 8 |
| Smoking | 1 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 September 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | BROCKMAN |
| 16 September 2010 | Natural | 30 acres | Capitan District | BUTTS |
| 14 September 2004 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | GOLF CART |
| 6 August 2016 | Natural | 1.0 acres | Capitan District | CEDAR POST |
| 4 August 2011 | Natural | 299 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | DAVIS |
| 3 August 2011 | Natural | 80 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | NORTH WOODY |
| 27 August 2016 | Natural | 10 acres | Capitan District | WEST DIAMOND TRAIL |
| 14 August 2012 | Natural | 350 acres | New Mexico State Forestry Division | GRIDER |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
1 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 1 working within 5 miles of Tolar: 1 past producer. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
33 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Tolar in 33 storm reports between 1998 and 2025: 17 thunderstorm wind, 12 hail, 2 heavy rain, 1 funnel cloud. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tolar | $1,000 | A trained spotter near Tolar estimated 60 mph wind gusts from a severe thunderstorm that tracked through the area. The severe winds broke approximately three inch diameter branches off of a tree. Damages are estimated for tree damage. |
| June 2025 | Hail | Tolar | - | A trained spotter along U.S. 60 and 84 a few miles east of Taiban observed nickel to quarter size hail from a severe thunderstorm. |
| July 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tolar | - | A weakening severe thunderstorm resulted in a peak wind gust of 61 mph at the Melrose Gunnery Range AWOS. |
| August 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tolar | - | The Melrose Gunnery Range station recorded a peak wind gust of 72 mph and sustained winds of 53 mph from a wet microburst. |
| October 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tolar | - | A nearby severe thunderstorm produced a 60 mph wind gust at Melrose Air Force Range. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tolar | - | The Melrose Gunnery weather station measured a peak thunderstorm wind gust of 69 mph. |
| July 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tolar | - | The Melrose AWOS station measured a 59 mph thunderstorm wind gust. |
| August 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tolar | - | The Melrose Bombing Range reported peak wind gusts up to 68 mph. |
| August 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tolar | - | Melrose Bombing Range reported a peak wind gust up to 60 mph. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tolar | - | Melrose Range. |
| June 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tolar | - | The Melrose Range RAWS site reported winds as high as 85 mph. Major damage occurred at the Melrose Bombing Range. |
| August 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tolar | - | Melrose Range peak wind gust to 60 mph. |
| May 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tolar | - | Wind gust at least 60 mph with damage to small tree limbs. |
| July 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tolar | - | Peak wind gust up to 60 mph near Tolar. A couple tree limbs between three and four inches in diameter were broken. |
| May 2016 | Hail | Tolar | - | Penny size hail along State Road 89. |
| September 2016 | Tornado (EF0) | Tolar | - | A nearby resident reported a loud, distant roaring sound over the Melrose Bombing Range where radar indicated very intense rotation. A storm survey of this extremely remote location later revealed a 2000 pound mobile office trailer that was bolted and strapped down was lifted and moved eight to ten inches. |
| May 2015 | Heavy Rain | Tolar | - | Thunderstorms produced 3.5 inches of rainfall in less than 24 hours near Tolar. No official reports of flash flooding were received. |
| May 2015 | Hail | Tolar | - | Spotter reported marble to half dollar sized hail fell from severe storm. |
| October 2015 | Hail | Tolar | - | Nickel size hail near Tolar. |
| August 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tolar | - | The Melrose RAWS measured a peak wind gust of 60 mph. |
| July 2014 | Heavy Rain | Tolar | - | A trained spotter near Tolar reported 4.30 inches of rainfall overnight. |
| June 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tolar | - | Wind gust was recorded by the K4MR AWOS at the Melrose gunnery range. |
| March 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tolar | - | Melrose range RAWS site reported peak wind gust to 60 mph. |
| October 1998 | Funnel Cloud | Tolar | - | Funnel cloud reported by airforce meteorologist from Melrose Bombing Range. |
| October 2015 | Hail | Tolar | - | no account filed |
| October 2015 | Hail | Tolar | - | no account filed |
| February 2009 | Hail | Tolar | - | no account filed |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Tolar | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Hail | Tolar | - | no account filed |
| April 2003 | Hail | Tolar | - | no account filed |
| August 2002 | Hail | Tolar | - | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Hail | Tolar | - | no account filed |
| October 1998 | Hail | Tolar | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Krider | 4.8 miles | 7 | |
| Cantara | 10.2 miles | 7 | |
| Benson (historical) | 18.8 miles | 7 | |
| Floyd | 24.8 miles | 7 | |
| Ingram (historical) | 25.1 miles | 6 | |
| Upton | 25.2 miles | 6 | |
| Bethel | 28.7 miles | 8 | |
| Delphos | 34.8 miles | 8 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 899957. 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.


