Henry County, Kentucky · New Castle
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With 28% of homes built before 1960 and about 23 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Basements flood here mostly in February. Henry County averages 12.1 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Henry County spike on heavy-rain days, about 12.1 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Henry County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.49 inches, and about 72 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
17% of occupied homes in Henry County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Kentucky county median of 12.6%.
With 61 muggy nights a year, mold in Henry County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 15,856 people live in Henry County, 286 square miles in northern Kentucky, in roughly 6,705 homes. The county seat is New Castle, and Eminence, Pleasureville and Campbellsburg round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1977, half after.
76/100 Water Damage Risk Index: High Henry County ranks 1 of 120 Kentucky counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Henry County ranks highest compared with other Kentucky counties.
Henry County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Kentucky. It averaged 83 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 23 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 9th.
On February 21, 2015 the low fell to about -13°F, and in the stretch ending January 2018 the county went 13 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.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 2 and end around Apr 12.
Rainfall is about average for Kentucky. The county gets about 53.5 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 12.1 days of an inch or more (60th of 120). Those downpours cluster in February, March and June, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.49 inches on July 14, 2015. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.82 inches, ending July 14, 2015, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 72 days a year. Each cycle melts and refreezes water at roof edges and in foundation cracks, which is how ice dams and basement seepage get started.
Housing
Kentucky's 120 counties range widely in housing age; Henry ranks 17th, with 56% of its homes built before 1980.
Before 1960 is when 28% 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 10% 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 61 times a year here, close to the Kentucky county median of 59. 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 Henry County's occupied homes: 26% utility gas, 54% electric, 14% propane and 3% wood. Propane heat is 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 Henry County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Henry 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 | Henry | Kentucky median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 28% | 18% | 14 of 120 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 56% | 44% | 17 of 120 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 19% | 25% | 99 of 120 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 10% | 19% | 91 of 120 |
| Vacant homes | 8.3% | 13% | 95 of 120 |
| Wood or propane heat | 17% | 13% | 51 of 120 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 23/yr | 20/yr | 9 of 120 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 12/yr | 12/yr | 60 of 120 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 72/yr | 73/yr | 65 of 120 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 61/yr | 59/yr | 44 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 Henry County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in February, March and June.
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