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.
Topographic sheets covering this place
6 surveys from 12 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.
- 1951 USGS Hickory quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1951 USGS Hickory quadrangle1:62500
- 1956 USGS Dyersburg quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1969 USGS Hickory quadrangle1:24000, 2 printings
- 1986 USGS Murray quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
- 1994 USGS Hickory quadrangle1:24000
Fires near this place
20 since 1998Regional 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 ceremony | 10 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 3 |
| Natural | 1 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 1998 | Natural | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 9 August 2012 | Recreation and ceremony | 6.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | MOUNTAIN R |
| 23 August 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 23 August 2007 | Railroad operations and maintenance | 10 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 13 August 2010 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | HOT ASH |
| 7 March 2010 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 6 March 2010 | Recreation and ceremony | 3.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
| 6 March 2007 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | Kentucky Division of Forestry | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
6 within 5 milesRegional 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 | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jackson Purchase Ball Clay Region | Titanium, Aluminum, Iron, Silica | Producer | 1888, 1900 | |
| Mid-South Construction Company | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Graves County Mines | Clay | Producer | ||
| Hickory Clay Mill | Clay | Producer | ||
| Lamkin Mine | Clay | Past Producer | ||
| Ranch Mine | Clay | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
7 since 2015Regional 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2025 | Flood | Viola | 1 killed | Flash 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 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Viola | $15,000 | Thunderstorm 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 2025 | Flood | Viola | $15,000 | A 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 2019 | Tornado (EF0) | Viola | $2,000 | Two 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 2025 | Flash Flood | Viola | - | Flood water from Mayfield Creek closed Highway 408 east near Viola. |
| April 2018 | Funnel Cloud | Viola | - | A funnel cloud was reported by state police along Highway 45. |
| June 2015 | Flash Flood | West Viola | - | U.S. Highway 45 was flooded. Water was reported over some other roads, as well. |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| West Viola | 1.1 miles | 12 | |
| Boaz | 2.1 miles | 12 | |
| Hickory | 2.3 miles | 12 | |
| Folsomdale | 2.6 miles | 12 | |
| Westplains | 3.2 miles | 13 | |
| Dogwood | 4.0 miles | 11 | |
| Pottsville | 4.7 miles | 12 | |
| Twin Oaks (historical) | 5.2 miles | 13 |
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 Viola | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q7932989 | 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 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.





