Howe, Oklahoma
17 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1900 and the latest in 1989. It stands in the Heavener census division. It lies in ZIP code area 74940. The Survey maps it on the Wister quadrangle. 625 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 489 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresHowe fell from 802 to 625 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 | 802 | |
| 2020 | 625 | -177 (-22%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
10 surveys from 17 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.
- 1900 USGS Winding Stair quadrangle1:125000, 2 printings
- 1909 USGS Winding Stair quadrangle1:125000, 4 printings
- 1950 USGS Mcalester quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1959 USGS Heavener quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1962 USGS Mc Alester quadrangle1:250000
- 1962 USGS McAlester quadrangle1:250000
- 1965 USGS Mc Alester quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1965 USGS McAlester quadrangle1:250000
- 1981 USGS Wister quadrangle1:24000
- 1989 USGS Mena quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
99 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 99 fires within 5 miles of Howe between 1992 and 2018, burning about 1,538 acres in total. 5 started naturally. 33 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 |
|---|---|
| Arson/incendiarism | 33 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 27 |
| Debris and open burning | 22 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 6 |
| Natural | 5 |
| Smoking | 3 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2002 | Equipment and vehicle use | 40 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 6 September 2010 | Arson/incendiarism | 125 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | 20228 |
| 5 September 2002 | Smoking | 3.0 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 24 September 2004 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | 20369 |
| 16 September 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 16 September 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | not named |
| 13 September 2004 | Equipment and vehicle use | 18 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | 20359 |
| 5 August 2011 | Smoking | 20 acres | Oklahoma Division of Forestry | 20399 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
4 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Howe: 4 past producers. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unknown Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown Sandstone Pit | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Unknown Sandstone Pit | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
28 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Howe in 28 storm reports between 1996 and 2023: 14 thunderstorm wind, 12 hail, 1 tornado, 1 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2019 | Hail | Howe | $50,000 | no account filed |
| July 2012 | Hail | Howe | $25,000 | no account filed |
| January 2023 | Hail | Howe | $15,000 | Ping pong ball size hail damaged vehicles and homes. |
| April 2011 | Tornado (EF1) | Howe | $10,000 | An anticyclonic tornado damaged a barn and snapped or uprooted trees. Maximum estimated wind in the tornado based on this damage was about 100 mph. |
| June 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howe | $10,000 | Thunderstorm winds estimated at 70 miles an hour blew down trees and destroyed a barn. |
| September 2020 | Flash Flood | Howe | $5,000 | Portions of numerous roads were flooded and closed throughout Le Flore County. Multiple swift water rescues were conducted. |
| July 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howe | $5,000 | Strong thunderstorm wind destroyed a shed. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howe | $5,000 | Strong thunderstorm wind blew down small trees and power lines. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howe | $5,000 | Strong thunderstorm wind blew down power lines. |
| April 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howe | $2,000 | Strong thunderstorm wind snapped large tree limbs and damaged outbuildings. |
| November 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howe | $2,000 | Strong thunderstorm wind blew down power lines on Highway 59. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howe | $1,000 | Strong thunderstorm wind blew down power lines on Morris Creek Road near Poteau Mountain Road. |
| November 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howe | - | Strong thunderstorm wind blew down trees on Morris Creek Road. |
| May 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howe | - | Strong thunderstorm wind snapped large tree limbs. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howe | - | Strong thunderstorm wind blew down a tree. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howe | - | Strong thunderstorm wind blew down a large tree. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howe | - | Strong thunderstorm wind blew down a large tree along Morris Creek Road east of Howe. |
| May 2020 | Hail | Howe | - | no account filed |
| April 2017 | Hail | Howe | - | no account filed |
| March 2016 | Hail | Howe | - | no account filed |
| March 2016 | Hail | Howe | - | no account filed |
| February 2013 | Hail | Howe | - | no account filed |
| March 2008 | Hail | Howe | - | no account filed |
| March 2008 | Hail | Howe | - | no account filed |
| May 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howe | - | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Hail | Howe | - | no account filed |
| February 1998 | Hail | Howe | - | no account filed |
| April 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Howe | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forest Hill | 1.9 miles | 17 | |
| Cavanal | 3.8 miles | 17 | |
| Yerby | 4.0 miles | 16 | |
| Glendale | 4.3 miles | 17 | |
| Smacker | 4.5 miles | 16 | |
| Heavener | 4.7 miles | 17 | |
| Wister | 4.8 miles | 17 | |
| Independence | 5.2 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 Howe | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2232828 | 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 1093983. 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.









