Brown County, Indiana · Nashville
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With 19% of homes built before 1960 and about 30 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 10.4 times a year here, most often in July. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Brown County gets about 10.4 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Brown County, 3.59 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
43% of occupied homes in Brown County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Indiana county median of 17%.
About 40 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
About 15,606 people live in Brown County, 312 square miles in southern Indiana, in roughly 8,577 homes. Besides Nashville, the county seat, the biggest communities are Cordry Sweetwater Lakes and Helmsburg. Half the homes here were built before 1982, half after.
40/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Brown County ranks 78 of 92 Indiana counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Brown County ranks highest compared with other Indiana counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Brown County sits near the middle of the state. From 2015–2024 it averaged 30 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 104 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 59th of 92 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 14 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -9°F on February 20, 2015.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs November to March. 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 Oct 26 and end around Apr 20.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Indiana. The county gets about 47.7 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 10.4 days of an inch or more (22nd of 92). Those downpours cluster in February, March and July, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.59 inches on June 19, 2021. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.1 inches, ending August 16, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 84 days a year swing from below freezing at night to above freezing by day. Those freeze-thaw cycles feed ice dams on roofs, open cracks in foundations and driveways, and stress pipes that are already marginal.
Housing
Indiana's 92 counties range widely in housing age; Brown ranks 74th, with 48% of its homes built before 1980.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 26% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 27% 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.
With 21% 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.
Beyond water
About 40 nights a year in Brown County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (40th of 92 counties). July is the wettest month. 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 Brown County's occupied homes: 14% utility gas, 42% electric, 34% propane and 9% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than the state median. Have chimneys swept and fuel-burning appliances serviced each fall, and keep three feet clear around stoves and space heaters.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Brown County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Johnson, Monroe and Morgan get more pipe-freeze nights than Brown. Bartholomew County has the oldest housing nearby, with 52% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Brown | Indiana median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 19% | 35% | 87 of 92 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 48% | 58% | 74 of 92 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 26% | 18% | 13 of 92 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 6.9% | 6.4% | 43 of 92 |
| Vacant homes | 21% | 9.2% | 3 of 92 |
| Wood or propane heat | 43% | 17% | 2 of 92 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 30/yr | 33/yr | 59 of 92 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 10/yr | 7.8/yr | 22 of 92 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 84/yr | 84/yr | 34 of 92 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 40/yr | 38/yr | 40 of 92 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Indiana county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Brown County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in February, March and July.
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