BlockBefore

Viola, Kentucky

12 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1951 and the latest in 1994. It stands in the Hickory-Lowes census division. It lies in ZIP code area 42051. It stands on Gilbert Creek. The Survey maps it on the Hickory quadrangle. It stands 404 feet above sea level.

Viola within Graves County

Topographic sheets covering this place

6 surveys from 12 printed sheets

Matched 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.

Fires near this place

20 since 1998

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 20 fires within 5 miles of Viola between 1998 and 2019, burning about 69 acres in total. 1 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
Recreation and ceremony10
Missing data/not specified/undetermined5
Railroad operations and maintenance3
Natural1
Debris and open burning1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
8 September 1998Natural1.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
9 August 2012Recreation and ceremony6.0 acresKentucky Division of ForestryMOUNTAIN R
23 August 2007Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
23 August 2007Railroad operations and maintenance10 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
13 August 2010Recreation and ceremony1.0 acresKentucky Division of ForestryHOT ASH
7 March 2010Recreation and ceremony1.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
6 March 2010Recreation and ceremony3.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named
6 March 2007Recreation and ceremony1.0 acresKentucky Division of Forestrynot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Graves County

Mines and quarries near this place

6 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 6 workings within 5 miles of Viola: 4 producers, 2 past producers. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Clay, Titanium, Aluminum, Iron, Silica, 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Jackson Purchase Ball Clay RegionTitanium, Aluminum, Iron, SilicaProducer1888, 1900
Mid-South Construction CompanySand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Graves County MinesClayProducer
Hickory Clay MillClayProducer
Lamkin MineClayPast Producer
Ranch MineClayPast Producer

Every working recorded in Graves County

Storms near this place

7 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Viola in 7 storm reports between 2015 and 2025: 2 flash flood, 2 flood, 1 funnel cloud, 1 tornado. The reports record 1 death. 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
February 2025FloodViola1 killedFlash flooding from the 15th and early 16th transitioned to areal flooding along Mayfield Creek and the West Fork of the Clarks River near Viola and Symsonia. A man lost his life after his vehicle was washed away in flood waters on Highway 348 where it crosses the West Fork of the Clarks River northwest of Symsonia. Numerous roads, including Highway 408, remained closed into the 17th.
August 2025Thunderstorm WindWest Viola$15,000Thunderstorm winds from a downburst caused tree damage along KY-1241 including a tree falling onto a house near KY-408/KY-1241 and a tree falling onto the roadway at KY-1241/Beasley Loop.
September 2025FloodViola$15,000A portion of a bridge on Hopewell Rd was washed out leaving a 6ft crater. Radar estimates of rainfall earlier in the afternoon peaked at around an inch in 30 minutes with only 1-1.5 inches of rain falling during the early afternoon.
March 2019Tornado (EF0)Viola$2,000Two large trees were uprooted, and several tree limbs were broken. A picture of the tornado was taken from Hickory. Peak winds in this short-lived tornado were estimated near 80 mph.
February 2025Flash FloodViola-Flood water from Mayfield Creek closed Highway 408 east near Viola.
April 2018Funnel CloudViola-A funnel cloud was reported by state police along Highway 45.
June 2015Flash FloodWest Viola-U.S. Highway 45 was flooded. Water was reported over some other roads, as well.

Every storm recorded in Graves County

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 PlaceDistance Sheets
West Viola1.1 miles12
Boaz2.1 miles12
Hickory2.3 miles12
Folsomdale2.6 miles12
Westplains3.2 miles13
Dogwood4.0 miles11
Pottsville4.7 miles12
Twin Oaks (historical)5.2 miles13

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 ViolaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q7932989The 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 506063. 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.