Burke County, Georgia · Waynesboro
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Pipes freeze in Burke County on about 2 nights a year, mostly January. Older homes, 21% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in January. Burke County averages 12.1 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Burke County spike on heavy-rain days, about 12.1 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Burke County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 4.94 inches, and about 29 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
12% of occupied homes in Burke County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Georgia county median of 7.1%.
About 116 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 11,300 homes and around 24,470 residents, Burke County is 827 square miles of eastern Georgia. Besides Waynesboro, the county seat, the biggest communities are Sardis, Midville and Keysville. The county's median home was built in 1982.
61/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Burke County ranks 30 of 159 Georgia counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Burke County ranks highest compared with other Georgia counties.
Burke is on the colder side of Georgia for pipes. 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 29 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 48th of 159 counties.
Most freezing nights fall from January, peaking in January. Disconnect garden hoses and shut off outdoor spigots before the first hard frost, and keep the heat at 55°F or higher if you'll be away.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 22 and the last spring freeze around Mar 16.
Rainfall is about average for Georgia. About 12.1 days a year bring an inch or more (78th of 159), most often in January, out of 48.2 inches of total precipitation. On November 7, 2024, 4.94 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.36 inches (through November 8, 2024).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 29 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
Roughly 48% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Burke among the oldest housing stocks of Georgia's 159 counties.
In Burke County 21% of homes are older than 1960. If yours is one of them and the plumbing has never been replaced, expect galvanized steel supply pipe and cast iron drain lines, the two materials most likely to fail quietly.
About 28% 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 30% 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.
19% 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
Burke County averages 116 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in August. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Burke County it's 11% utility gas, 77% electric, 10% propane and 1% wood. Propane heat is more common here than the state median. Have chimneys swept and fuel-burning appliances serviced each fall, and keep three feet clear around stoves and space heaters.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Burke County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Burke gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Jenkins County has the oldest housing nearby, with 53% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Burke | Georgia median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 21% | 15% | 39 of 159 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 48% | 38% | 31 of 159 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 25% | 27% | 93 of 159 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 30% | 21% | 46 of 159 |
| Vacant homes | 19% | 14% | 42 of 159 |
| Wood or propane heat | 12% | 7.1% | 51 of 159 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 2/yr | 2/yr | 48 of 159 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 12/yr | 12/yr | 78 of 159 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 29/yr | 29/yr | 78 of 159 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 116/yr | 112/yr | 74 of 159 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Georgia county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Burke 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