Menifee County, Kentucky · Frenchburg
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Pipes freeze in Menifee County on about 22 nights a year, mostly November to March. Older homes, 7% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in September. Menifee County averages 10.6 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Menifee County spike on heavy-rain days, about 10.6 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Menifee County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.09 inches, and about 78 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
26% of occupied homes in Menifee County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Kentucky county median of 12.6%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 41 times a year in Menifee County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Menifee County covers 204 square miles of eastern Kentucky, with about 6,230 residents and 3,367 homes. Frenchburg is the county seat. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1989.
34/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Menifee County ranks 106 of 120 Kentucky counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Menifee County ranks highest compared with other Kentucky counties.
Menifee is on the colder side of Kentucky for pipes. From 2015–2024 it averaged 22 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 90 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 16th of 120 counties.
On February 20, 2015 the low fell to about -17°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.
The freeze season here runs November to March, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 30 and the last spring freeze around Apr 18.
Rainfall is about average for Kentucky. Of roughly 55.7 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 10.6 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 80th of 120. February, August and September see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.09 inches, July 30, 2021. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.61 inches (through March 1, 2021).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 78 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
Roughly 31% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Menifee among the newer housing stocks of Kentucky's 120 counties.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 31% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 19% 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.
26% 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
Menifee County averages 41 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in July. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Menifee County it's 10% utility gas, 63% electric, 17% propane and 9% wood. Wood and propane heat are 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 Menifee County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Montgomery and Rowan get more pipe-freeze nights than Menifee. Bath County has the oldest housing nearby, with 44% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Menifee | Kentucky median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 6.9% | 18% | 119 of 120 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 31% | 44% | 111 of 120 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 31% | 25% | 18 of 120 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 19% | 19% | 59 of 120 |
| Vacant homes | 26% | 13% | 2 of 120 |
| Wood or propane heat | 26% | 13% | 18 of 120 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 22/yr | 20/yr | 16 of 120 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 11/yr | 12/yr | 80 of 120 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 78/yr | 73/yr | 24 of 120 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 41/yr | 59/yr | 110 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 Menifee County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in February, August and September.
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