Hart County, Georgia · Hartwell
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Hart County averages 3 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly January, and 15% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 12.1 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 Hart County, 4.98 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
12% of occupied homes in Hart County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Georgia county median of 7.1%.
About 96 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 13,200 homes and around 26,939 residents, Hart County is 232 square miles of northern Georgia. The county seat is Hartwell, and Reed Creek, Bowersville and Eagle Grove round out the largest towns. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1987.
54/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Hart County ranks 60 of 159 Georgia counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Hart County ranks highest compared with other Georgia counties.
Hart is on the colder side of Georgia for pipes. From 2015–2024 it averaged 3 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 46 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 25th of 159 counties.
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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 17 and the last spring freeze around Mar 20.
Rainfall is about average for Georgia. Of roughly 49.8 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 12.1 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 78th of 159. January, October and December see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.98 inches, September 27, 2024. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 7.27 inches (through September 28, 2024).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 45 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
Roughly 39% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Hart near the middle of Georgia's 159 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 15% predate 1960 and 27% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
34% 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 23% 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.
16% 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
Hart County averages 96 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in January. Keep indoor humidity under 60%, as the EPA advises, and dry any leak within 24 to 48 hours; in a humid month a wet basement left alone won't dry by itself.
Mold remediation: what to expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Hart County it's 13% utility gas, 74% electric, 9% propane and 3% wood. Wood heat is above the Georgia norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Hart County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Hart gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Elbert County has the oldest housing nearby, with 52% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Hart | Georgia median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 15% | 15% | 77 of 159 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 39% | 38% | 78 of 159 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 27% | 27% | 76 of 159 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 23% | 21% | 74 of 159 |
| Vacant homes | 16% | 14% | 60 of 159 |
| Wood or propane heat | 12% | 7.1% | 49 of 159 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 3/yr | 2/yr | 25 of 159 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 12/yr | 12/yr | 78 of 159 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 45/yr | 29/yr | 27 of 159 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 96/yr | 112/yr | 126 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 Hart County: freezing from January, heavy rain in January, October 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