Sullivan County, Indiana · Sullivan
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Sullivan County averages 28 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 36% of its homes predate 1960.
July brings the most downpours to Sullivan County, part of 9.7 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Sullivan County gets about 9.7 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Sullivan County, 2.54 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
17% of occupied homes in Sullivan County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Indiana county median of 17%.
About 60 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
With 8,791 homes and around 20,780 residents, Sullivan County is 447 square miles of southwest Indiana. Besides Sullivan, the county seat, the biggest communities are Shelburn, Farmersburg and Hymera. Half the homes here were built before 1973, half after.
55/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Sullivan County ranks 28 of 92 Indiana counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Sullivan County ranks highest compared with other Indiana counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Indiana, and pipes still freeze. It averaged 95 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 28 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 92 Indiana counties that's 66th.
The longest cold spell was straight 14 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -9°F on January 31, 2019. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
Most freezing nights fall from November to March, peaking in January. Disconnect garden hoses and shut off outdoor spigots before the first hard frost, and keep the heat at 55°F or higher if you'll be away.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 30 and end around Apr 12.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Indiana. The county gets about 44.3 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 9.7 days of an inch or more (28th of 92). Those downpours cluster in March, April and July, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.54 inches on June 11, 2018. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.9 inches, ending June 12, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 78 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
58% of homes in Sullivan County predate 1980, close to the Indiana county median of 58.2%, which ranks 46th of Indiana's 92 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 36% predate 1960 and 20% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 11% 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.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 60 times a year here, above the Indiana county median of 38. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Sullivan County homes break down as 41% utility gas, 40% electric, 14% propane and 3% 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 Sullivan County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Clay, Greene and Vigo get more pipe-freeze nights than Sullivan. Knox County has the oldest housing nearby, with 70% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Sullivan | Indiana median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 36% | 35% | 44 of 92 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 58% | 58% | 46 of 92 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 20% | 18% | 38 of 92 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 11% | 6.4% | 18 of 92 |
| Vacant homes | 11% | 9.2% | 25 of 92 |
| Wood or propane heat | 17% | 17% | 48 of 92 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 28/yr | 33/yr | 66 of 92 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 9.7/yr | 7.8/yr | 28 of 92 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 78/yr | 84/yr | 73 of 92 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 60/yr | 38/yr | 11 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 Sullivan County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in March, April 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