Simpson County, Kentucky · Franklin
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Simpson County averages 15 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 25% of its homes predate 1960.
February brings the most downpours to Simpson County, part of 13.6 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
25% 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 Simpson County, 4.78 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
12% of occupied homes in Simpson County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Kentucky county median of 12.6%.
About 75 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 19,972 people live in Simpson County, 234 square miles in southern Kentucky, in roughly 8,627 homes. Franklin is the county seat. The county's median home was built in 1979.
59/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Simpson County ranks 35 of 120 Kentucky counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Simpson County ranks highest compared with other Kentucky counties.
Simpson County is milder than most of Kentucky, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. It averaged 70 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 15 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 120 Kentucky counties that's 102nd.
The longest cold spell was straight 8 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -5°F on February 19, 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 Nov 4 and the last spring freeze around Apr 3.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Kentucky. The county gets about 55.8 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 13.6 days of an inch or more (25th of 120). Those downpours cluster in February, June and December, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 4.78 inches on September 1, 2017. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 6.79 inches (through September 2, 2017).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 62 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 52% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Simpson among the oldest housing stocks of Kentucky's 120 counties.
In Simpson County 25% of homes are older than 1960. If yours is one of them and the plumbing has never been replaced, expect galvanized steel supply pipe and cast iron drain lines, the two materials most likely to fail quietly.
23% 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 8% 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.
Renters occupy 33% of homes. If you rent, the building is usually the landlord's to repair, but your belongings are only covered by renters insurance.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 75 times a year here, above 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 Simpson County it's 32% utility gas, 55% electric, 11% propane and under 1% wood. Most homes here heat with gas or electricity, so cooking and electrical faults are the likelier fire sources. Even a contained kitchen fire can send soot through the ductwork to every room.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Simpson County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Simpson gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Logan County has the oldest housing nearby, with 54% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Simpson | Kentucky median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 25% | 18% | 25 of 120 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 52% | 44% | 33 of 120 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 25% | 25% | 54 of 120 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 8.1% | 19% | 97 of 120 |
| Vacant homes | 7% | 13% | 107 of 120 |
| Wood or propane heat | 12% | 13% | 71 of 120 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 15/yr | 20/yr | 102 of 120 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 14/yr | 12/yr | 25 of 120 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 62/yr | 73/yr | 104 of 120 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 75/yr | 59/yr | 22 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 Simpson County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in February, June 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