Marion County, Alabama · Hamilton
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Marion County averages 6 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to January, and 17% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 17.2 times a year here, most often in December. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Sewage backups in Marion County spike on heavy-rain days, about 17.2 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 53 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
6% of occupied homes in Marion County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Alabama county median of 9.9%.
About 94 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
With 14,220 homes and around 29,184 residents, Marion County is 742 square miles of northwest Alabama. Hamilton is the county seat; Winfield, Guin and Hackleburg are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1978, half after.
73/100 Water Damage Risk Index: High Marion County ranks 2 of 67 Alabama counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Marion County ranks highest compared with other Alabama counties.
Marion County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Alabama. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 6 nights a year at or below 20°F (4th of 67) and 54 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 3 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near 5°F on January 17, 2018.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs December to 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 10 and end around Mar 23.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Alabama. The county gets about 63.4 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 17.2 days of an inch or more (7th of 67). Those downpours cluster in February, March and December, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 4.28 inches on August 31, 2021. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.4 inches, ending February 13, 2020, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 53 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
54% of homes in Marion County predate 1980, above the Alabama county median of 43.5%, which ranks 5th of Alabama's 67 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 17% predate 1960 and 16% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
30% 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.
22% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, close to the Alabama county median of 21.7%. Their water lines run under the floor behind the skirting, so a torn skirt or failed heat tape freezes them faster than lines in a site-built house.
The Census counted 25% of homes as vacant, above the Alabama county median of 15.8%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
Marion County averages 94 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in February. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Marion County homes break down as 35% utility gas, 58% electric, 5% propane and under 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 Marion County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Franklin gets more pipe-freeze nights than Marion. Lamar County has the oldest housing nearby, with 54% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Marion | Alabama median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 17% | 16% | 23 of 67 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 54% | 44% | 5 of 67 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 16% | 23% | 62 of 67 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 22% | 22% | 29 of 67 |
| Vacant homes | 25% | 16% | 14 of 67 |
| Wood or propane heat | 6% | 9.9% | 49 of 67 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 6/yr | 3/yr | 4 of 67 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 17/yr | 15/yr | 7 of 67 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 53/yr | 38/yr | 6 of 67 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 94/yr | 112/yr | 54 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 Marion County: freezing from December to 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