McLean County, Kentucky · Calhoun
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With 24% of homes built before 1960 and about 16 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
July brings the most downpours to McLean County, part of 12.3 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
24% of homes here predate 1960, when clay and cast iron sewer laterals were standard. Roots and cracks in those lines are a common cause of backups.
McLean County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.5 inches, and about 67 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
20% of occupied homes in McLean County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Kentucky county median of 12.6%.
About 80 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
With 4,173 homes and around 9,114 residents, McLean County is 253 square miles of western Kentucky. Besides Calhoun, the county seat, the biggest communities are Livermore, Island and Sacramento. Half the homes here were built before 1976, half after.
55/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated McLean County ranks 52 of 120 Kentucky counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where McLean County ranks highest compared with other Kentucky counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Kentucky, and pipes still freeze. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 16 nights a year at or below 20°F (93rd of 120) and 76 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On February 19, 2015 the low fell to about -6°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 9 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
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 3 and end around Apr 3.
Rainfall is about average for Kentucky. The county gets about 50.6 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 12.3 days of an inch or more (55th of 120). Those downpours cluster in March, July and December, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.5 inches on October 28, 2015. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5 inches, ending June 30, 2020, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 67 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; McLean ranks 13th, with 57% of its homes built before 1980.
In McLean County 24% of homes are older than 1960. If yours is one of them and the plumbing has never been replaced, expect galvanized steel supply pipe and cast iron drain lines, the two materials most likely to fail quietly.
About 28% 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 19% 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.
Beyond water
McLean County averages 80 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in July. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, McLean County homes break down as 26% utility gas, 54% electric, 18% propane and 2% wood. Propane heat is more common here than in most Kentucky counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across McLean County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Daviess, Henderson and Ohio get more pipe-freeze nights than McLean. Henderson County has the oldest housing nearby, with 57% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | McLean | Kentucky median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 24% | 18% | 29 of 120 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 57% | 44% | 13 of 120 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 15% | 25% | 114 of 120 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 19% | 19% | 55 of 120 |
| Vacant homes | 13% | 13% | 65 of 120 |
| Wood or propane heat | 20% | 13% | 41 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 | 55 of 120 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 67/yr | 73/yr | 90 of 120 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 80/yr | 59/yr | 19 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 McLean 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