Monroe County, Kentucky · Tompkinsville
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Monroe County averages 17 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 22% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 14.5 times a year here, most often in February. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Monroe County gets about 14.5 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Monroe County, 3.21 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
15% of occupied homes in Monroe County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Kentucky county median of 12.6%.
About 58 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
Monroe County covers 329 square miles of southern Kentucky, with about 11,269 residents and 5,279 homes. Tompkinsville is the county seat; Gamaliel and Fountain Run are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1977, half after.
56/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Monroe County ranks 46 of 120 Kentucky counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Monroe 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 17 nights a year at or below 20°F (86th of 120) and 80 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
The longest cold spell was straight 8 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -8°F on February 19, 2015. 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 Oct 28 and end around Apr 14.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Kentucky. Of roughly 57 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 14.5 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 12th of 120. February, June and July see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.21 inches, May 9, 2024. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.26 inches, ending September 2, 2017, 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
Roughly 57% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Monroe among the oldest housing stocks of Kentucky's 120 counties.
The mix runs from 22% built before 1960 to 19% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
25% date from 1980 to 1999, the window when polybutylene, a gray flexible plastic supply pipe, was used in some homes. It's prone to leaks at the fittings, so it's worth checking for in a house from those years.
Here 15% 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
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 58 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Monroe County it's 20% utility gas, 65% electric, 10% propane and 5% wood. Wood 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 Monroe County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Barren and Metcalfe get more pipe-freeze nights than Monroe. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Monroe | Kentucky median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 22% | 18% | 45 of 120 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 57% | 44% | 15 of 120 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 19% | 25% | 100 of 120 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 15% | 19% | 74 of 120 |
| Vacant homes | 12% | 13% | 73 of 120 |
| Wood or propane heat | 15% | 13% | 56 of 120 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 17/yr | 20/yr | 86 of 120 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 15/yr | 12/yr | 12 of 120 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 72/yr | 73/yr | 65 of 120 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 58/yr | 59/yr | 62 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 Monroe County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in February, June and July.
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