Oldham County, Kentucky · La Grange
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Pipes freeze in Oldham County on about 22 nights a year, mostly December to February. Older homes, 8% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in February. Oldham County averages 12.6 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Oldham County gets about 12.6 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 75 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
4% of occupied homes in Oldham County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Kentucky county median of 12.6%.
About 60 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
About 69,257 people live in Oldham County, 187 square miles in northern Kentucky, in roughly 23,837 homes. La Grange is the county seat; Crestwood, Buckner and Orchard Grass Hills are the next largest communities. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1994.
48/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Oldham County ranks 76 of 120 Kentucky counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Oldham County ranks highest compared with other Kentucky counties.
Oldham 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 87 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 16th of 120 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 13 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in January 2018. The coldest night reached about -13°F on February 21, 2015. 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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 30 and the last spring freeze around Apr 10.
Rainfall is about average for Kentucky. About 12.6 days a year bring an inch or more (48th of 120), most often in February, out of 54.1 inches of total precipitation. On July 31, 2020, 3.58 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.76 inches (through August 2, 2020).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 75 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; Oldham ranks 115th, with 30% of its homes built before 1980.
Growth since 2000 added 38% of today's homes. In houses that new, the weak points are washing machine hoses, ice maker lines, water heaters and sump pumps rather than the pipes in the walls.
About 32% 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.
Beyond water
Oldham County averages 60 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, Oldham County homes break down as 48% utility gas, 47% electric, 4% propane and under 1% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Oldham County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Henry and Shelby get more pipe-freeze nights than Oldham. Jefferson County has the oldest housing nearby, with 62% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Oldham | Kentucky median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 7.7% | 18% | 118 of 120 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 30% | 44% | 115 of 120 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 38% | 25% | 5 of 120 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 1.3% | 19% | 118 of 120 |
| Vacant homes | 3.4% | 13% | 120 of 120 |
| Wood or propane heat | 4.3% | 13% | 114 of 120 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 22/yr | 20/yr | 16 of 120 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 13/yr | 12/yr | 48 of 120 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 75/yr | 73/yr | 38 of 120 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 60/yr | 59/yr | 51 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 Oldham County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in February, March 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