Turner County, Georgia · Ashburn
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Turner County averages 1 night a year at 20°F or colder, mostly midwinter, and 25% of its homes predate 1960.
January brings the most downpours to Turner County, part of 12.1 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Turner County gets about 12.1 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Turner County, 4.03 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 Turner County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Georgia county median of 7.1%.
About 128 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
Turner County covers 285 square miles of southern Georgia, with about 8,939 residents and 3,927 homes. Ashburn is the county seat; Sycamore and Rebecca are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1977, half after.
62/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Turner County ranks 28 of 159 Georgia counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Turner County ranks highest compared with other Georgia counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Turner County sits near the middle of the state. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 1 night a year at or below 20°F (85th of 159) and 17 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Hard freezes are uncommon here, about 17 nights a year at or below 32°F, and that's exactly why they do damage: pipes in attics, exterior walls and slab-edge plumbing are rarely insulated. The coldest night in the record was about 15°F on December 24, 2022.
Rainfall is about average for Georgia. Of roughly 51.2 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 12.1 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 78th of 159. January, February and April see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.03 inches, December 6, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.73 inches, ending September 27, 2024, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Housing
Georgia's 159 counties range widely in housing age; Turner ranks 9th, with 54% of its homes built before 1980.
25% were built before 1960. Homes from that era often still have galvanized steel supply pipe, which rusts from the inside until it pinholes, and cast iron drains that crack with age. Slow leaks behind walls are a common start to water damage in these houses.
About 33% 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 25% 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.
With 16% of homes empty at survey time, landlords and seasonal owners should shut off the main or schedule checks in winter. An unheated vacant house is also where many policies limit freeze coverage.
Renters occupy 36% of homes. If you rent, the building is usually the landlord's to repair, but your belongings are only covered by renters insurance.
Beyond water
Turner County averages 128 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in December. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Turner County's occupied homes: 17% utility gas, 76% electric, 6% 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 Turner County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Turner gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Turner | Georgia median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 25% | 15% | 10 of 159 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 54% | 38% | 9 of 159 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 13% | 27% | 159 of 159 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 25% | 21% | 63 of 159 |
| Vacant homes | 16% | 14% | 64 of 159 |
| Wood or propane heat | 6.1% | 7.1% | 91 of 159 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 1/yr | 2/yr | 85 of 159 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 12/yr | 12/yr | 78 of 159 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 17/yr | 29/yr | 119 of 159 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 128/yr | 112/yr | 48 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 Turner County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in January, February and April.
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