Pendleton County, Kentucky · Falmouth
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Pendleton County averages 22 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to March, and 30% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 8.7 times a year here, most often in February. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
30% 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.
In Pendleton County, 3.09 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
27% of occupied homes in Pendleton County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Kentucky county median of 12.6%.
About 55 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 6,299 homes and around 14,723 residents, Pendleton County is 277 square miles of northeast Kentucky. The county seat is Falmouth, and Butler is the other large town. The county's median home was built in 1979.
61/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Pendleton County ranks 27 of 120 Kentucky counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Pendleton County ranks highest compared with other Kentucky counties.
Pendleton 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.
On February 20, 2015 the low fell to about -11°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.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs December to March. 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 Nov 4 and the last spring freeze around Apr 16.
Pendleton gets fewer downpours than most Kentucky counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 49.4 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 8.7 days of an inch or more (104th of 120). Those downpours cluster in February, March and July, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.09 inches on September 9, 2018. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.54 inches (through September 10, 2018).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 75 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 51% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Pendleton among the oldest housing stocks of Kentucky's 120 counties.
Before 1960 is when 30% of these homes went up. Galvanized supply lines and cast iron drains were standard then, and after 60-plus years both corrode and crack, often out of sight inside a wall or under a slab.
29% 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 20% 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.
Beyond water
Pendleton County averages 55 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 expectMain heating fuel in Pendleton County's occupied homes: 19% utility gas, 47% electric, 20% propane and 7% 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 Pendleton County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Bracken and Kenton get more pipe-freeze nights than Pendleton. Kenton County has the oldest housing nearby, with 58% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Pendleton | Kentucky median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 30% | 18% | 6 of 120 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 51% | 44% | 36 of 120 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 21% | 25% | 89 of 120 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 20% | 19% | 53 of 120 |
| Vacant homes | 14% | 13% | 56 of 120 |
| Wood or propane heat | 27% | 13% | 17 of 120 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 22/yr | 20/yr | 16 of 120 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.7/yr | 12/yr | 104 of 120 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 75/yr | 73/yr | 38 of 120 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 55/yr | 59/yr | 74 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 Pendleton County: freezing from December to March, 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