South Fork, Missouri
13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1944 and the latest in 1984. It stands in Benton Township. It lies in ZIP code area 65775. The Survey maps it on the South Fork quadrangle. 212 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,094 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresSouth Fork fell from 241 to 212 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 | 241 | |
| 2020 | 212 | -29 (-12%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
8 surveys from 13 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.
- 1944 USGS West Plains quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1946 USGS West Plains quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1957 USGS Poplar Bluff quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1959 USGS Poplar Bluff quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Poplar Bluff quadrangle1:250000
- 1976 USGS West Plains NW quadrangle1:24000
- 1983 USGS South Fork quadrangle1:24000
- 1984 USGS West Plains quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
47 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 47 fires within 5 miles of South Fork between 1992 and 2020, burning about 349 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 were 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 | 25 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 14 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 4 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 September 2001 | Debris and open burning | 4.0 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 2 September 2000 | Arson/incendiarism | 3.0 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 17 September 2000 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.0 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 19 August 2020 | Equipment and vehicle use | 23 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | 261339-14639-08192020-1606 |
| 1 August 1997 | Equipment and vehicle use | 8.0 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 1 August 1997 | Equipment and vehicle use | 1.0 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | not named |
| 25 July 2018 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.6 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | 177935-14639-07252018-1341 |
| 7 June 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.1 acres | Missouri Department of Conservation | 220570-14639-06072020-1322 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of South Fork: 1 unknown, 1 prospect, 1 past producer. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Iron, Zinc. 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 - Zinc | Zinc | Prospect | ||
| Unknown - Iron | Iron | Unknown | ||
| Unknown - Iron | Iron | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
41 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names South Fork in 41 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 14 hail, 13 flash flood, 11 thunderstorm wind, 2 tornado. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 2025 | Hail | South Fork | $125,000 | Hail ranging from golf balls to tennis balls in size fell across the Southfork area. The impacted area was rural, however, a few homes and businesses were impacted suffering roof and vehicle damage. |
| April 2022 | Hail | South Fork | $125,000 | Baseball sized hail was reported via MPing. The hail fell in a mostly rural area, however as many as 10 homes and outbuildings were impacted by the hail swath. |
| November 2024 | Flash Flood | South Fork | $25,000 | Emergency Manager reported that a water rescue was performed off of County Road 9100 near Spring Creek. |
| April 2025 | Tornado (EF1) | South Fork | $10,000 | A National Weather Service survey team found EF-1 tornado damage southwest of West Plains, Missouri from Highway JJ to County Road 8800. The tornado path length was 1.13 miles long, 350 yards wide, and maximum winds between 95-100 mph. Numerous trees were uprooted along the path. A metal roof of a small farm building was blown off. |
| January 2020 | Flash Flood | South Fork | $10,000 | A water rescue was performed near Highway JJ and County Road 9260 at the West Fork Spring Creek. No injured occurred. |
| May 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | South Fork | $10,000 | The Emergency Manager relayed from 911 that a tree fell on a structure at 11587 County Road 6690 across from Highway E. |
| March 2008 | Tornado (EF0) | South Fork | $10,000 | A National Weather Service storm survey revealed that an EF-0 tornado touched down in South Fork. A barn housing a camping unit was destroyed. |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | South Fork | $10,000 | Microburst winds destroyed a barn in rural central Howell County. |
| May 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | South Fork | $5,000 | A NWS survey team determined intermittent wind damage occurred in a one mile swath starting around one mile north of South Fork and extended east southeast to around Route JJ. There were numerous downed trees along with some light roof damage. |
| May 1996 | Flash Flood | South Fork | $5,000 | no account filed |
| March 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | South Fork | $2,000 | A tree was knocked onto a house off of Highway JJ, southeast of South Fork. |
| May 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | South Fork | $1,000 | A tree falling on power lines started a fire off of Highway 160 about 5 miles southwest of West Plains. |
| April 2025 | Flash Flood | South Fork | - | Missouri Highway 17 was closed along with County Roads 8390 and 9180 due to flooding on the South Fork Spring River. |
| April 2025 | Flash Flood | South Fork | - | County Road 6920 near Highway 160 was flooded and impassable at a low water area. |
| May 2025 | Hail | South Fork | - | Report of quarter size hail. |
| March 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | South Fork | - | High wind gusts downed a tree at the China Union Church. |
| March 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | South Fork | - | Severe wind gusts downed a tree along County Road 8390. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | South Fork | - | Two maple trees lost sizable branches due to high winds. |
| May 2016 | Hail | South Fork | - | Quarter size hail was reported in South Fork. |
| May 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | South Fork | - | There were a few trees blown down east of South Fork. |
| June 2016 | Flash Flood | South Fork | - | State Route JJ along the South Fork of the Spring River was flooded and impassable. |
| June 2016 | Flash Flood | South Fork | - | Secondary roads in the southern portion of Howell County were flooded from excessive rainfall. |
| September 2016 | Flash Flood | South Fork | - | Two water rescues occurred along US Highway 160 2 miles northeast of South Fork due to flash flooding. The highway was impassable. No injuries were reported. |
| March 2015 | Flash Flood | South Fork | - | There was water flowing over Highway 160. |
| July 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | South Fork | - | Several large limbs were blown down. |
| April 2011 | Flash Flood | South Fork | - | Highway 160 was closed due to flooding. |
| April 2011 | Flash Flood | South Fork | - | Highway AB was closed due to flooding. |
| July 2009 | Flash Flood | South Fork | - | Law enforcement officials reported that flood waters were running three to four feet deep over County Road 9100 between County Road JJ and Highway 17, where the Spring Creek intersects the road. Howell Creek also flooded Highway PP and County Road 9030 east of Highway PP with three to four feet of water. |
| August 2009 | Heavy Rain | South Fork | - | A cooperative observer measured 1.25 inches of rain in 30 minutes. |
| July 2006 | Flash Flood | South Fork | - | Flash flooding inundated a section of Highway JJ near its intersection with the South Fork of the Spring River. |
| March 2015 | Hail | South Fork | - | no account filed |
| January 2006 | Hail | South Fork | - | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Hail | South Fork | - | no account filed |
| January 2006 | Hail | South Fork | - | no account filed |
| April 2006 | Hail | South Fork | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | South Fork | - | no account filed |
| April 2002 | Hail | South Fork | - | no account filed |
| April 1998 | Hail | South Fork | - | no account filed |
| July 1997 | Hail | South Fork | - | no account filed |
| April 1997 | Hail | South Fork | - | no account filed |
| March 1996 | Hail | South Fork | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hocomo | 2.4 miles | 12 | |
| Amy | 2.7 miles | 12 | |
| China | 3.5 miles | 13 | |
| Homeland | 3.6 miles | 13 | |
| Egypt Grove | 3.7 miles | 12 | |
| Arditta | 5.4 miles | 12 | |
| Pottersville | 5.9 miles | 13 | |
| Cottbus | 6.3 miles | 17 |
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 South Fork | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q576750 | 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 726724. 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.







