Grady County, Georgia · Cairo
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Grady County averages 0 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly midwinter, and 15% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 11.5 times a year here, most often in January. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
15% of homes here predate 1960, when clay and cast iron sewer laterals were standard. Roots and cracks in those lines are a common cause of backups.
In Grady County, 5.8 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
6% of occupied homes in Grady County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Georgia county median of 7.1%.
About 141 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
Grady County covers 454 square miles of southwest Georgia, with about 26,108 residents and 11,645 homes. Besides Cairo, the county seat, the biggest communities are Whigham and Calvary. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1991.
41/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Grady County ranks 126 of 159 Georgia counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Grady County ranks highest compared with other Georgia counties.
Grady County is milder than most of Georgia, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. From 2015–2024 it averaged 0 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 12 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 117th of 159 counties.
With only about 12 freezing nights a year, many homes here aren't built for cold, so a single arctic outbreak can burst pipes across the county. The record low in this data was about 17°F, on December 24, 2022.
Grady gets fewer downpours than most Georgia counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 53.2 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 11.5 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 109th of 159. January, February and June see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 5.8 inches, April 11, 2024. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 6.85 inches (through December 3, 2018).
Housing
Roughly 37% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Grady near the middle of Georgia's 159 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 15% of homes are pre-1960 and 27% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
35% 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.
Here 31% of housing is manufactured homes. Check the skirting and the heat tape on the main water line every fall, because that one exposed line is what freezes.
Beyond water
About 141 nights a year in Grady County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (9th of 159 counties). July is the wettest month. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Grady County's occupied homes: 7% utility gas, 86% electric, 5% propane and 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 Grady County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Grady gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Mitchell County has the oldest housing nearby, with 53% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Grady | Georgia median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 15% | 15% | 77 of 159 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 37% | 38% | 85 of 159 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 27% | 27% | 76 of 159 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 31% | 21% | 40 of 159 |
| Vacant homes | 13% | 14% | 88 of 159 |
| Wood or propane heat | 6.4% | 7.1% | 89 of 159 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 0/yr | 2/yr | 117 of 159 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 12/yr | 12/yr | 109 of 159 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 12/yr | 29/yr | 151 of 159 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 141/yr | 112/yr | 9 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 Grady County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in January, February and June.
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