Marshall County, Alabama · Guntersville
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With 14% 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 15.3 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 Marshall County gets about 15.3 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Marshall County, 4.45 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
5% of occupied homes in Marshall County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Alabama county median of 9.9%.
About 101 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
Marshall County covers 566 square miles of northern Alabama, with about 99,748 residents and 41,762 homes. The county seat is Guntersville, and Albertville, Boaz and Arab round out the largest towns. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1986.
51/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Marshall County ranks 34 of 67 Alabama counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Marshall County ranks highest compared with other Alabama counties.
Marshall County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Alabama. From 2015–2024 it averaged 4 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 42 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 12th of 67 counties.
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 December 24, 2022. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
The freeze season here runs January, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 13 and end around Mar 16.
Rainfall is about average for Alabama. Of roughly 58.5 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 15.3 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 26th of 67. January, February and December see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.45 inches, December 26, 2015. The worst three-day stretch dropped 8.02 inches, ending December 26, 2015, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 40 days a year swing from below freezing at night to above freezing by day. Those freeze-thaw cycles feed ice dams on roofs, open cracks in foundations and driveways, and stress pipes that are already marginal.
Housing
Roughly 41% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Marshall among the newer housing stocks of Alabama's 67 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 14% predate 1960 and 25% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
About 34% 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.
14% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, below 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.
Beyond water
About 101 nights a year in Marshall County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (45th of 67 counties). December 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Marshall County homes break down as 27% utility gas, 67% electric, 4% propane and under 1% 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 Marshall County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
DeKalb, Jackson, Madison and Morgan get more pipe-freeze nights than Marshall. Etowah County has the oldest housing nearby, with 58% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Marshall | Alabama median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 14% | 16% | 47 of 67 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 41% | 44% | 46 of 67 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 25% | 23% | 27 of 67 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 14% | 22% | 53 of 67 |
| Vacant homes | 13% | 16% | 52 of 67 |
| Wood or propane heat | 4.9% | 9.9% | 55 of 67 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 4/yr | 3/yr | 12 of 67 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 15/yr | 15/yr | 26 of 67 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 40/yr | 38/yr | 30 of 67 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 101/yr | 112/yr | 45 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 Marshall County: freezing from January, heavy rain in January, February 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