Marshall County, Kentucky · Benton
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With 16% 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 13.6 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 Marshall County gets about 13.6 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Marshall County, 3.26 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
14% of occupied homes in Marshall County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Kentucky county median of 12.6%.
About 94 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
Marshall County covers 302 square miles of southwest Kentucky, with about 31,743 residents and 16,572 homes. The county seat is Benton, and Calvert City, Hardin and Gilbertsville round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1983, half after.
48/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Marshall County ranks 75 of 120 Kentucky counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Marshall 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 15 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 66 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 102nd 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.
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 8 and end around Mar 27.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Kentucky. Of roughly 52.8 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 13.6 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 25th of 120. February, March and December see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.26 inches, July 7, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.88 inches, ending September 29, 2024, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 57 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 45% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Marshall near the middle of Kentucky's 120 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 16% predate 1960 and 22% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
About 33% 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.
15% 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 20% 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
About 94 nights a year in Marshall County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (1st of 120 counties). March is the wettest month. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Marshall County homes break down as 42% utility gas, 43% electric, 13% propane and under 1% 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 Marshall County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Livingston and Lyon get more pipe-freeze nights than Marshall. Graves County has the oldest housing nearby, with 57% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Marshall | Kentucky median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 16% | 18% | 78 of 120 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 45% | 44% | 55 of 120 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 22% | 25% | 80 of 120 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 15% | 19% | 73 of 120 |
| Vacant homes | 20% | 13% | 14 of 120 |
| Wood or propane heat | 14% | 13% | 61 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 | 25 of 120 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 57/yr | 73/yr | 115 of 120 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 94/yr | 59/yr | 1 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 Marshall 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