Lyon County, Kentucky · Eddyville
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Lyon County averages 16 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 10% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in February. Lyon County averages 12.4 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Lyon County spike on heavy-rain days, about 12.4 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 60 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
17% of occupied homes in Lyon County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Kentucky county median of 12.6%.
With 86 muggy nights a year, mold in Lyon County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 8,900 people live in Lyon County, 214 square miles in southwest Kentucky, in roughly 4,847 homes. Besides Eddyville, the county seat, the biggest community is Kuttawa. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1989.
36/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Lyon County ranks 103 of 120 Kentucky counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Lyon 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 16 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 69 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 93rd of 120 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 10 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -4°F on December 23, 2022. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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 7 and end around Mar 29.
Rainfall is about average for Kentucky. Of roughly 52.6 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 12.4 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 51st of 120. February, March and December see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.17 inches, July 7, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.61 inches, ending July 7, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 60 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 35% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Lyon among the newer housing stocks of Kentucky's 120 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 10% 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 38% 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.
Here 16% of housing is manufactured homes. Check the skirting and the heat tape on the main water line every fall, because that one exposed line is what freezes.
30% 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
Lyon County averages 86 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in July. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Lyon County it's 20% utility gas, 62% electric, 17% propane and under 1% 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 Lyon County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Crittenden gets more pipe-freeze nights than Lyon. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Crittenden County has the oldest housing nearby, with 60% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Lyon | Kentucky median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 9.8% | 18% | 112 of 120 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 35% | 44% | 97 of 120 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 27% | 25% | 39 of 120 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 16% | 19% | 65 of 120 |
| Vacant homes | 30% | 13% | 1 of 120 |
| Wood or propane heat | 17% | 13% | 48 of 120 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 16/yr | 20/yr | 93 of 120 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 12/yr | 12/yr | 51 of 120 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 60/yr | 73/yr | 109 of 120 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 86/yr | 59/yr | 10 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 Lyon County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in February, March 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