Clarke County, Alabama · Grove Hill
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Pipes freeze in Clarke County on about 2 nights a year, mostly midwinter. Older homes, 15% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 18 times a year here, most often in April. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Sewage backups in Clarke County spike on heavy-rain days, about 18 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 25 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
13% of occupied homes in Clarke County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Alabama county median of 9.9%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 131 times a year in Clarke County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Clarke County covers 1,238 square miles of southwest Alabama, with about 22,543 residents and 11,749 homes. Grove Hill is the county seat; Jackson, Thomasville and Fulton are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1981, half after.
61/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Clarke County ranks 13 of 67 Alabama counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Clarke County ranks highest compared with other Alabama counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Clarke County sits near the middle of the state. From 2015–2024 it averaged 2 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 25 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 37th of 67 counties.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs midwinter. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 19 and end around Mar 1.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Alabama. Of roughly 59.6 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 18 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 2nd of 67. January, March and April see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.24 inches, April 15, 2018. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.72 inches, ending January 3, 2017, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 25 times a year here. They're the main driver of ice dams and of water working its way through foundation cracks in late winter.
Housing
Alabama's 67 counties range widely in housing age; Clarke ranks 20th, with 49% of its homes built before 1980.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 15% predate 1960 and 15% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
About 36% of homes went up between 1980 and 1999. Some houses from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s were plumbed with polybutylene, a gray plastic pipe known for failing at fittings. A plumber can tell you in a few minutes whether you have it.
Here 26% of housing is manufactured homes. Check the skirting and the heat tape on the main water line every fall, because that one exposed line is what freezes.
28% of homes were vacant at survey time. A leak in an empty rental or seasonal house can run for days before anyone notices, which is why those losses tend to be larger.
Beyond water
About 131 nights a year in Clarke County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (10th of 67 counties). June is the wettest month. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30 to 50%. Basements can pass 60% on their own in summer, so a dehumidifier matters even without a leak, and anything wet should be dried within 24 to 48 hours.
Mold remediation: what to expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Clarke County it's 22% utility gas, 65% electric, 11% propane and 2% wood. Most homes here heat with gas or electricity, so cooking and electrical faults are the likelier fire sources. Even a contained kitchen fire can send soot through the ductwork to every room.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Clarke County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Clarke gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Clarke | Alabama median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 15% | 16% | 37 of 67 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 49% | 44% | 20 of 67 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 15% | 23% | 64 of 67 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 26% | 22% | 19 of 67 |
| Vacant homes | 28% | 16% | 5 of 67 |
| Wood or propane heat | 13% | 9.9% | 22 of 67 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 2/yr | 3/yr | 37 of 67 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 18/yr | 15/yr | 2 of 67 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 25/yr | 38/yr | 56 of 67 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 131/yr | 112/yr | 10 of 67 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Alabama county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Clarke County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in January, March and April.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates (2020-2024); weather from NOAA nClimGrid-Daily county averages (EpiNOAA), 2015–2024, averaged across the county; county boundaries from Census TIGER. Reviewed 2026-10-21. Methodology