May, Missouri
16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1907 and the latest in 1986. It stands in Buffalo May Township. It lies in ZIP code area 64843. It stands on Sugar Fork. The Survey maps it on the Seneca quadrangle.
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 16 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.
- 1907 USGS Wyandotte quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1909 USGS Wyandotte quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1949 USGS Seneca quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1950 USGS Seneca quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1954 USGS Tulsa quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1958 USGS Tulsa quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1963 USGS Tulsa quadrangle1:250000
- 1986 USGS Neosho quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
23 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 23 fires within 5 miles of May between 1992 and 2020, burning about 362 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 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 | 15 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 1 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 September 1995 | Equipment and vehicle use | 38 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 10 September 1999 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 3 July 1992 | Debris and open burning | 5.0 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 20 July 2013 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 7.0 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 21 April 1993 | Debris and open burning | 12 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 7 March 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 2.0 acres | Missouri State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 25 March 1998 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 19 March 1994 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
9 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 9 workings within 5 miles of May: 9 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Lead, Zinc, Zinc, Bituminous, Iron, Iron. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown - Iron | Iron | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown - Iron & Coal | Bituminous, Iron | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown - Lead & Barite | Barium-Barite, Lead | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown - Ls. | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown - Zinc | Zinc | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown - Zinc | Zinc | Past Producer | ||
| Seneca Racine | Lead, Zinc | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown - Zinc & Lead | Lead, Zinc | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown - Zn & Pb | Lead, Zinc | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
7 since 2008Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names May in 7 storm reports between 2008 and 2026: 2 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood, 1 tornado, 1 heavy rain. 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 2017 | Tornado (EF1) | May | $50,000 | An EF-1 tornado touched down near the Newton County and McDonald County line southeast of Seneca. The tornado lifted near Highway DD and Eagle Drive. There was roof damage to several homes and outbuilding. Estimated maximum winds were up to 90 mph. |
| April 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | May | $10,000 | Severe thunderstorm wind gusts downed a few power poles in rural northwest McDonald County. |
| March 2026 | Thunderstorm Wind | May | - | An 81 mph wind gust was measured seven miles west-southwest of Goodman. |
| April 2025 | Flash Flood | May | - | Heavy Rainfall lead to multiple county roads flooding. |
| September 2023 | Hail | May | - | Quarter sized hail was reported. |
| June 2019 | Heavy Rain | May | - | A CoCoRaHS Observer measured a 24 hour rainfall total of 3.96 inches. |
| April 2011 | Flash Flood | May | - | Highway Y was closed due to flooding. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Splitlog | 4.5 miles | 13 | |
| Hart | 4.5 miles | 15 | |
| Kelley Springs | 6.0 miles | 13 | |
| Elliff | 6.0 miles | 13 | |
| Coy | 6.2 miles | 15 | |
| Goodman | 6.6 miles | 13 | |
| Enterprise (historical) | 7.1 miles | 15 | |
| Tiff City | 7.6 miles | 15 |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 741047. 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.







