Graves County, Kentucky · Mayfield
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With 23% of homes built before 1960 and about 15 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 13.8 times a year here, most often in March. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Graves County gets about 13.8 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Graves County, 3.53 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
21% of occupied homes in Graves County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Kentucky county median of 12.6%.
About 91 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 36,630 people live in Graves County, 552 square miles in southwest Kentucky, in roughly 16,425 homes. Besides Mayfield, the county seat, the biggest communities are Wingo, Symsonia and Sedalia. Half the homes here were built before 1977, half after.
60/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Graves County ranks 31 of 120 Kentucky counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Graves County ranks highest compared with other Kentucky counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Kentucky, and pipes still freeze. It averaged 67 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.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 10 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -4°F on December 23, 2022.
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 5 and end around Mar 28.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Kentucky. Of roughly 53.7 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 13.8 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 22nd of 120. March, July and December see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.53 inches, October 29, 2020. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.86 inches, ending August 5, 2023, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 59 times a year here. They're the main driver of ice dams and of water working its way through foundation cracks in late winter.
Housing
Roughly 57% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Graves among the oldest housing stocks of Kentucky's 120 counties.
Before 1960 is when 23% 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 23% 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.
11% 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.
Beyond water
Graves County averages 91 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in March. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30 to 50%. Basements can pass 60% on their own in summer, so a dehumidifier matters even without a leak, and anything wet should be dried within 24 to 48 hours.
Mold remediation: what to expectMain heating fuel in Graves County's occupied homes: 39% utility gas, 39% electric, 20% propane and 2% wood. Propane 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 Graves County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Graves gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Graves | Kentucky median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 23% | 18% | 35 of 120 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 57% | 44% | 15 of 120 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 20% | 25% | 92 of 120 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 11% | 19% | 89 of 120 |
| Vacant homes | 14% | 13% | 53 of 120 |
| Wood or propane heat | 21% | 13% | 34 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 | 22 of 120 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 59/yr | 73/yr | 110 of 120 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 91/yr | 59/yr | 3 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 Graves County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in March, July and December.
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