Henry County, Georgia · McDonough
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With 3% of homes built before 1960 and about 3 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Basements flood here mostly in January. Henry County averages 12.6 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Henry County spike on heavy-rain days, about 12.6 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Henry County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 6.3 inches, and about 34 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
3% of occupied homes in Henry County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Georgia county median of 7.1%.
With 104 muggy nights a year, mold in Henry County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 249,960 people live in Henry County, 319 square miles in western Georgia, in roughly 91,424 homes. The county seat is McDonough, and Stockbridge, Locust Grove and Hampton round out the largest towns. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 2001.
45/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Henry County ranks 107 of 159 Georgia counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Henry County ranks highest compared with other Georgia counties.
Henry County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Georgia. It averaged 34 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.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs January. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 23 and end around Mar 13.
Rainfall is about average for Georgia. The county gets about 54.3 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 12.6 days of an inch or more (60th of 159). Those downpours cluster in January, April and December, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 6.3 inches on September 27, 2024. The worst three-day stretch dropped 9.16 inches, ending September 28, 2024, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 34 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
Georgia's 159 counties range widely in housing age; Henry ranks 157th, with 10% of its homes built before 1980.
53% of homes were built in 2000 or later, more than in most of Georgia. Newer plumbing rarely corrodes, so damage here tends to come from appliance supply lines, water heaters, sump pumps and storms.
About 37% 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.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 104 times a year here, close to 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 expectMain heating fuel in Henry County's occupied homes: 51% utility gas, 46% 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 Henry County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Henry gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. DeKalb County has the oldest housing nearby, with 44% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Henry | Georgia median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 2.5% | 15% | 155 of 159 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 10% | 38% | 157 of 159 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 53% | 27% | 8 of 159 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 2.9% | 21% | 148 of 159 |
| Vacant homes | 5.2% | 14% | 149 of 159 |
| Wood or propane heat | 2.5% | 7.1% | 136 of 159 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 3/yr | 2/yr | 25 of 159 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 13/yr | 12/yr | 60 of 159 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 34/yr | 29/yr | 59 of 159 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 104/yr | 112/yr | 97 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 Henry County: freezing from January, heavy rain in January, April 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