Crittenden County, Kentucky · Marion
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Crittenden County averages 17 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 27% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in February. Crittenden County averages 13.2 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Crittenden County spike on heavy-rain days, about 13.2 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 63 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
37% of occupied homes in Crittenden County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Kentucky county median of 12.6%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 81 times a year in Crittenden County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 8,979 people live in Crittenden County, 360 square miles in southwest Kentucky, in roughly 4,346 homes. Besides Marion, the county seat, the biggest communities are Crayne and Tolu. Half the homes here were built before 1975, half after.
63/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Crittenden County ranks 13 of 120 Kentucky counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Crittenden County ranks highest compared with other Kentucky counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Kentucky, and pipes still freeze. From 2015–2024 it averaged 17 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 73 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 86th of 120 counties.
On February 19, 2015 the low fell to about -5°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 11 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
The freeze season here runs December to February, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 2 and end around Mar 29.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Kentucky. About 13.2 days a year bring an inch or more (35th of 120), most often in February, out of 52.5 inches of total precipitation. On September 28, 2024, 3.39 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.83 inches, ending September 29, 2024, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 63 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
Roughly 60% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Crittenden among the oldest housing stocks of Kentucky's 120 counties.
Before 1960 is when 27% of these homes went up. Galvanized supply lines and cast iron drains were standard then, and after 60-plus years both corrode and crack, often out of sight inside a wall or under a slab.
About 25% 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.
12% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, below the Kentucky county median of 18.5%. Their water lines run under the floor behind the skirting, so a torn skirt or failed heat tape freezes them faster than lines in a site-built house.
The Census counted 19% of homes as vacant, above the Kentucky county median of 13.2%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 81 times a year here, above the Kentucky county median of 59. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Crittenden County it's 21% utility gas, 39% electric, 31% propane and 6% wood. Wood and propane heat are above the Kentucky 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 Crittenden County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Union gets more pipe-freeze nights than Crittenden. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Crittenden | Kentucky median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 27% | 18% | 20 of 120 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 60% | 44% | 5 of 120 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 15% | 25% | 113 of 120 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 12% | 19% | 82 of 120 |
| Vacant homes | 19% | 13% | 23 of 120 |
| Wood or propane heat | 37% | 13% | 3 of 120 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 17/yr | 20/yr | 86 of 120 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 13/yr | 12/yr | 35 of 120 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 63/yr | 73/yr | 102 of 120 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 81/yr | 59/yr | 17 of 120 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Kentucky county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Crittenden County: freezing from December to February, 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