Cullman County, Alabama · Cullman
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With 13% of homes built before 1960 and about 4 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 16.2 times a year here, most often in February. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Cullman County gets about 16.2 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Cullman County, 3.58 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
12% of occupied homes in Cullman County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Alabama county median of 9.9%.
About 103 nights a year here stay at 65°F or warmer, so basements and crawl spaces can grow mold even without a leak.
Local risk profile
About 90,566 people live in Cullman County, 735 square miles in northern Alabama, in roughly 39,871 homes. Besides Cullman, the county seat, the biggest communities are Hanceville, Good Hope and Baileyton. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1987.
54/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Cullman County ranks 25 of 67 Alabama counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Cullman County ranks highest compared with other Alabama counties.
Cullman County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Alabama. It averaged 44 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 4 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 67 Alabama counties that's 12th.
The longest cold spell was straight 3 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in January 2018. The coldest night reached about 6°F on January 18, 2018. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs January. 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 12 and end around Mar 14.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Alabama. Of roughly 59.9 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 16.2 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 15th of 67. February, March and December see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.58 inches, December 28, 2018. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.42 inches, ending December 26, 2015, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 42 days a year. Each cycle melts and refreezes water at roof edges and in foundation cracks, which is how ice dams and basement seepage get started.
Housing
41% of homes in Cullman County predate 1980, close to the Alabama county median of 43.5%, which ranks 46th of Alabama's 67 counties.
Growth since 2000 added 28% of today's homes. In houses that new, the weak points are washing machine hoses, ice maker lines, water heaters and sump pumps rather than the pipes in the walls.
32% date from 1980 to 1999, the window when polybutylene, a gray flexible plastic supply pipe, was used in some homes. It's prone to leaks at the fittings, so it's worth checking for in a house from those years.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 20% of the housing here. Water lines in the underbelly depend on intact skirting and working heat tape, and they're usually the first to freeze in a cold snap.
Beyond water
About 103 nights a year in Cullman County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (41st of 67 counties). March is the wettest month. Mold grows when indoor humidity stays above about 60%, the EPA's ceiling. A basement dehumidifier set to 50% and drying anything wet within 24 to 48 hours prevents most problems.
Mold remediation: what to expectMain heating fuel in Cullman County's occupied homes: 11% utility gas, 75% electric, 10% propane and 1% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Cullman County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Lawrence, Morgan and Winston get more pipe-freeze nights than Cullman. Walker County has the oldest housing nearby, with 46% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Cullman | Alabama median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 13% | 16% | 53 of 67 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 41% | 44% | 46 of 67 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 28% | 23% | 18 of 67 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 20% | 22% | 39 of 67 |
| Vacant homes | 11% | 16% | 59 of 67 |
| Wood or propane heat | 12% | 9.9% | 30 of 67 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 4/yr | 3/yr | 12 of 67 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 16/yr | 15/yr | 15 of 67 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 42/yr | 38/yr | 26 of 67 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 103/yr | 112/yr | 41 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 Cullman County: freezing from January, heavy rain in February, March and December.
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