Towns County, Georgia · Hiawassee
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With 7% of homes built before 1960 and about 10 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
February brings the most downpours to Towns County, part of 17.2 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
7% 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 Towns County, 4.82 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
42% of occupied homes in Towns County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Georgia county median of 7.1%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 16 times a year in Towns County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Towns County covers 166 square miles of northern Georgia, with about 12,913 residents and 8,808 homes. Hiawassee is the county seat; Young Harris and Tate City are the next largest communities. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1995.
58/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Towns County ranks 45 of 159 Georgia counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Towns County ranks highest compared with other Georgia counties.
Towns is on the colder side of Georgia for pipes. It averaged 74 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 10 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 2nd.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs December to February. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 29 and the last spring freeze around Apr 12.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Georgia. Of roughly 67.7 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 17.2 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 7th of 159. January, February and December see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.82 inches, March 26, 2021. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 7.53 inches (through September 28, 2024).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 72 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
Georgia's 159 counties range widely in housing age; Towns ranks 131st, with 24% of its homes built before 1980.
Growth since 2000 added 38% 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 38% 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 17% 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.
33% 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
Towns County averages 16 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in December. 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 Towns County it's 1% utility gas, 56% electric, 39% propane and 3% wood. Wood and propane heat are 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 Towns County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Towns gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Rabun County has the oldest housing nearby, with 34% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Towns | Georgia median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 7% | 15% | 135 of 159 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 24% | 38% | 131 of 159 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 38% | 27% | 34 of 159 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 17% | 21% | 100 of 159 |
| Vacant homes | 33% | 14% | 10 of 159 |
| Wood or propane heat | 42% | 7.1% | 2 of 159 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 10/yr | 2/yr | 2 of 159 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 17/yr | 12/yr | 7 of 159 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 72/yr | 29/yr | 3 of 159 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 16/yr | 112/yr | 158 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 Towns County: freezing from December to February, 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