Cumberland County, Kentucky · Burkesville
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Pipes freeze in Cumberland County on about 15 nights a year, mostly December to February. Older homes, 16% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 14.2 times a year here, most often in February. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Cumberland County gets about 14.2 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 66 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
28% of occupied homes in Cumberland County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Kentucky county median of 12.6%.
With 66 muggy nights a year, mold in Cumberland County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 5,948 people live in Cumberland County, 305 square miles in southern Kentucky, in roughly 3,404 homes. Burkesville is the county seat; Marrowbone is the next largest community. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1986.
47/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Cumberland County ranks 78 of 120 Kentucky counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Cumberland County ranks highest compared with other Kentucky counties.
Cumberland County is milder than most of Kentucky, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. It averaged 73 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 15 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 120 Kentucky counties that's 102nd.
On February 19, 2015 the low fell to about -6°F, and in the stretch ending February 2015 the county went 5 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
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 Nov 4 and the last spring freeze around Apr 12.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Kentucky. The county gets about 57.3 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 14.2 days of an inch or more (17th of 120). Those downpours cluster in February, June and July, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.67 inches on July 7, 2016. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.65 inches (through September 29, 2024).
About 66 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
Kentucky's 120 counties range widely in housing age; Cumberland ranks 68th, with 42% of its homes built before 1980.
Housing age is mixed: 16% of homes are pre-1960 and 27% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
About 31% 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 21% 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.
23% 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
Cumberland County averages 66 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in February. 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 Cumberland County it's 10% utility gas, 62% electric, 12% propane and 15% wood. Wood heat is 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 Cumberland County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Adair, Metcalfe, Monroe and Russell get more pipe-freeze nights than Cumberland. Monroe County has the oldest housing nearby, with 57% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Cumberland | Kentucky median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 16% | 18% | 76 of 120 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 42% | 44% | 68 of 120 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 27% | 25% | 39 of 120 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 21% | 19% | 49 of 120 |
| Vacant homes | 23% | 13% | 7 of 120 |
| Wood or propane heat | 28% | 13% | 14 of 120 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 15/yr | 20/yr | 102 of 120 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 14/yr | 12/yr | 17 of 120 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 66/yr | 73/yr | 94 of 120 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 66/yr | 59/yr | 33 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 Cumberland County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in February, June 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