BlockMatthews, Missouri
15 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1931 and the latest in 1985. It stands in Big Prairie Township. It lies in ZIP code area 63867. The Survey maps it on the Sikeston South quadrangle. 534 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 312 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresMatthews fell from 628 to 534 between 2010 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 628 | |
| 2020 | 534 | -94 (-15%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
7 surveys from 15 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.
- 1931 USGS Sikeston quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1934 USGS Sikeston quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1939 USGS Sikeston quadrangle1:62500
- 1956 USGS Dyersburg quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1963 USGS Sikeston quadrangle1:62500
- 1963 USGS Sikeston South quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1985 USGS Sikeston quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
1 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 1 fire within 5 miles of Matthews in 1996, burning about 2 acres in total. None 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 |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20 December 1996 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
7 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Matthews: 7 past producers. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Borrow Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Borrow Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Borrow Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Borrow Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Borrow Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Borrow Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Borrow Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
18 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Matthews in 18 storm reports between 1996 and 2024: 8 thunderstorm wind, 5 tornado, 3 hail, 1 funnel cloud. The reports record 2 injuries. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2018 | Tornado (EF2) | Matthews | 2 hurt, $750,000 | This EF-2 tornado tracked from the south side of Matthews to one mile east of town. Roofs were partially or completely torn off dozens of homes. Semi trucks were blown over and destroyed. Numerous outbuildings were destroyed. A couple of injuries occurred due to windows being blown out of a nursing home. Peak winds were estimated near 120 mph. |
| March 2017 | Tornado (EF1) | Matthews | $200,000 | The tornado touched down along U.S. Highway 62 and tracked eastward across Interstate 55. One barn was leveled. Other barns were damaged, and random power poles were down. There was minor damage to a few house roofs. Numerous irrigation pivots were damaged. Some trees were uprooted. Three tractor-trailer rigs were overturned on Interstate 55. Peak winds in the New Madrid County portion of the damage path were near 95 mph. The tornado continued eastward into Mississippi County. |
| October 2013 | Tornado (EF1) | Matthews | $175,000 | This tornado contained estimated peak winds near 100 mph. The tornado track began along Highway FF and ended along U.S. Highway 62. On Highway FF, a power pole was snapped and a metal shed about 14 by 16 feet was destroyed. On Highway 62, a large metal building door was blown in, with another door partially blown out. There was also siding damage. Two grain augers were blown over. Several grain pipes were blown around, including two across U.S. Highway 62. One of the poles impaled a passing car, shattering the window. |
| March 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Matthews | $150,000 | Northwest through north of Matthews, a section of roof was blown off an older farmhouse. A barn was levelled. Power poles were leaning or broken. Numerous shingles were missing off one house. A carport was leaning sideways. Numerous large limbs were down. Many irrigation systems were blown over. This damage immediately preceded a tornado that began north of Matthews along U.S. Highway 62. |
| April 2017 | Tornado (EF2) | Matthews | $60,000 | The peak intensity of this tornado occurred just off U.S. Highway 61/62 on County Road 840, where a house was very heavily damaged. The house sustained the loss of the entire roof structure and part of one exterior wall. Estimated wind speeds at the house were near 125 mph. Elsewhere, two barns lost most of their roofs. A couple of small sheds were blown down. Several trees were uprooted. The tornado began about one-half mile north of Matthews and lifted one mile south of Sikeston. |
| January 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Matthews | $50,000 | A gas station near the intersection of Interstate 55 and Highway 80 was demolished. A shed was blown into a field, and a farming irrigation system was damaged. |
| May 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Matthews | $30,000 | Billboards and signs were blown down on Interstate 55 between the Sikeston and Matthews exits. |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Matthews | $12,000 | The roof was blown off of city hall. A telephone pole and numerous large limbs were down. |
| March 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Matthews | $10,000 | Large tree limbs were blown down and fencing was damaged at several locations across the northern part of the county. |
| January 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Matthews | $10,000 | Several power poles were snapped. |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Matthews | $5,000 | Trees were blown down at Matthews. Wind gusts were estimated from 60 to 70 mph by emergency management in New Madrid. |
| January 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Matthews | $5,000 | no account filed |
| May 2024 | Hail | Matthews | - | Hail measured to ping pong ball size was reported via mPING south of Miner from a supercell storm. |
| February 2018 | Flash Flood | Matthews | - | Water was over U.S. Highway 62 near Matthews. |
| November 2005 | Tornado (F0) | Matthews | - | A brief, short-lived tornado was observed over open farm country. No damage was reported. |
| July 1997 | Funnel Cloud | Matthews | - | Numerous funnel clouds occurred over western and southern New Madrid County. The funnel clouds were confirmed by police officers, emergency management personnel, and spotters. The funnels went up and down rather frequently. No touchdowns were reported. These funnel clouds were not associated with severe thunderstorms. |
| May 1998 | Hail | Matthews | - | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Hail | Matthews | - | 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.
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 Matthews | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q970316 | 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 721977. 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.