McIntosh County, Georgia · Darien
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With 9% of homes built before 1960 and about 0 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
September brings the most downpours to McIntosh County, part of 9.7 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in McIntosh County spike on heavy-rain days, about 9.7 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
McIntosh County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 5.13 inches.
7% of occupied homes in McIntosh County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Georgia county median of 7.1%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 152 times a year in McIntosh County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
McIntosh County covers 431 square miles of southeast Georgia, with about 11,312 residents and 6,850 homes. Besides Darien, the county seat, the biggest communities are Eulonia and Crescent. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1997.
27/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate McIntosh County ranks 154 of 159 Georgia counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where McIntosh County ranks highest compared with other Georgia counties.
McIntosh 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 7 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 117th of 159 counties.
With only about 7 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 22°F, on December 25, 2022.
McIntosh gets fewer downpours than most Georgia counties, but they still fill basements. About 9.7 days a year bring an inch or more (153rd of 159), most often in September, out of 48.4 inches of total precipitation. On August 6, 2024, 5.13 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 7.44 inches (through August 8, 2024).
Housing
Roughly 22% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts McIntosh among the newer housing stocks of Georgia's 159 counties.
44% 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.
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 35% 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.
26% 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
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 152 times a year here, above 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In McIntosh County it's 2% utility gas, 90% electric, 6% propane and under 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 McIntosh County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
McIntosh gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Glynn County has the oldest housing nearby, with 37% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | McIntosh | Georgia median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 9% | 15% | 121 of 159 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 22% | 38% | 135 of 159 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 44% | 27% | 19 of 159 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 35% | 21% | 17 of 159 |
| Vacant homes | 26% | 14% | 17 of 159 |
| Wood or propane heat | 7% | 7.1% | 83 of 159 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 0/yr | 2/yr | 117 of 159 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 9.7/yr | 12/yr | 153 of 159 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 7/yr | 29/yr | 157 of 159 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 152/yr | 112/yr | 3 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 McIntosh County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in April, September and October.
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