Owsley County, Kentucky · Booneville
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Owsley County averages 18 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to February, and 15% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 9.7 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 Owsley County gets about 9.7 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 73 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
24% of occupied homes in Owsley 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 53 times a year in Owsley County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Owsley County covers 197 square miles of eastern Kentucky, with about 3,971 residents and 2,052 homes. Booneville is the county seat. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1990.
31/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Owsley County ranks 111 of 120 Kentucky counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Owsley County ranks highest compared with other Kentucky counties.
For frozen pipes, Owsley County is a typical Kentucky county, which is still plenty. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 18 nights a year at or below 20°F (71st of 120) and 82 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 6 days below freezing (ending January 2016), and the low bottomed out near -15°F on February 20, 2015.
Most freezing nights fall from November to February, peaking in January. Disconnect garden hoses and shut off outdoor spigots before the first hard frost, and keep the heat at 55°F or higher if you'll be away.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 1 and the last spring freeze around Apr 15.
Owsley gets fewer downpours than most Kentucky counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 54.1 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 9.7 days of an inch or more (92nd of 120). Those downpours cluster in February, July and December, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 4.2 inches on July 28, 2022. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 6.89 inches (through July 29, 2022).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 73 times a year here. They're the main driver of ice dams and of water working its way through foundation cracks in late winter.
Housing
Roughly 37% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Owsley 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 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 28% 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.
24% 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
About 53 nights a year in Owsley County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (80th of 120 counties). July is the wettest month. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Owsley County it's 4% utility gas, 59% electric, 8% propane and 16% 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 Owsley County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Jackson gets more pipe-freeze nights than Owsley. Perry County has the oldest housing nearby, with 42% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Owsley | Kentucky median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 15% | 18% | 80 of 120 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 37% | 44% | 92 of 120 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 31% | 25% | 18 of 120 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 28% | 19% | 22 of 120 |
| Vacant homes | 24% | 13% | 6 of 120 |
| Wood or propane heat | 24% | 13% | 25 of 120 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 18/yr | 20/yr | 71 of 120 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 9.7/yr | 12/yr | 92 of 120 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 73/yr | 73/yr | 55 of 120 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 53/yr | 59/yr | 80 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 Owsley County: freezing from November to February, heavy rain in February, 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