Fulton County, Georgia · Atlanta
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Fulton County averages 3 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly January, and 15% of its homes predate 1960.
January brings the most downpours to Fulton County, part of 13.5 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Fulton County gets about 13.5 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Fulton County, 6.56 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
2% of occupied homes in Fulton County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Georgia county median of 7.1%.
About 100 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 507,119 homes and around 1,076,561 residents, Fulton County is 527 square miles of northwest Georgia. Besides Atlanta, the county seat, the biggest communities are South Fulton, Sandy Springs and Roswell. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1993.
63/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Fulton County ranks 20 of 159 Georgia counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Fulton County ranks highest compared with other Georgia counties.
Fulton County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Georgia. It averaged 40 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 3 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 159 Georgia counties that's 25th.
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 17 and end around Mar 15.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Georgia. The county gets about 55.5 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 13.5 days of an inch or more (33rd of 159). Those downpours cluster in January, February and December, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 6.56 inches on September 27, 2024. The worst three-day stretch dropped 9.79 inches, ending September 28, 2024, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 40 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
33% of homes in Fulton County predate 1980, below the Georgia county median of 38.4%, which ranks 104th of Georgia's 159 counties.
Growth since 2000 added 40% 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.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 27% of the county's homes. If yours is from those decades, look under the sinks and at the water heater for gray plastic pipe stamped PB, which is polybutylene and leak-prone.
Renters occupy 46% of homes. If you rent, the building is usually the landlord's to repair, but your belongings are only covered by renters insurance.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 100 times a year here, below the Georgia county median of 112. 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, Fulton County homes break down as 49% utility gas, 49% electric, 2% propane and under 1% wood. Heating equipment, cooking and electrical failures cause most home fires nationally. Even a small kitchen fire can leave soot through the whole house, because smoke follows air currents into closets, ducts and attic space.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Fulton County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Cherokee and Forsyth get more pipe-freeze nights than Fulton. DeKalb County has the oldest housing nearby, with 44% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Fulton | Georgia median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 15% | 15% | 76 of 159 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 33% | 38% | 104 of 159 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 40% | 27% | 29 of 159 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 0.4% | 21% | 159 of 159 |
| Vacant homes | 8.8% | 14% | 126 of 159 |
| Wood or propane heat | 1.5% | 7.1% | 154 of 159 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 3/yr | 2/yr | 25 of 159 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 14/yr | 12/yr | 33 of 159 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 40/yr | 29/yr | 39 of 159 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 100/yr | 112/yr | 115 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 Fulton 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