Woodford County, Kentucky · Versailles
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With 20% of homes built before 1960 and about 21 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
February brings the most downpours to Woodford County, part of 11.7 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
20% 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.
Woodford County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.63 inches, and about 72 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
5% of occupied homes in Woodford County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Kentucky county median of 12.6%.
With 61 muggy nights a year, mold in Woodford County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
Woodford County covers 190 square miles of central Kentucky, with about 27,279 residents and 11,686 homes. Versailles is the county seat; Midway is the next largest community. Half the homes here were built before 1984, half after.
57/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Woodford County ranks 44 of 120 Kentucky counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Woodford County ranks highest compared with other Kentucky counties.
Woodford County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Kentucky. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 21 nights a year at or below 20°F (35th of 120) and 82 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On February 21, 2015 the low fell to about -14°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 February. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 31 and end around Apr 14.
Rainfall is about average for Kentucky. The county gets about 54.2 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 11.7 days of an inch or more (66th of 120). Those downpours cluster in February, March and June, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.63 inches on April 3, 2015. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.13 inches, ending April 4, 2015, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 72 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
41% of homes in Woodford County predate 1980, close to the Kentucky county median of 44.1%, which ranks 73rd of Kentucky's 120 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 20% predate 1960 and 22% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 38% of the county's homes. If yours is from those decades, look under the sinks and at the water heater for gray plastic pipe stamped PB, which is polybutylene and leak-prone.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 61 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Woodford County homes break down as 41% utility gas, 53% electric, 4% propane and 2% 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 Woodford County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Anderson and Scott get more pipe-freeze nights than Woodford. Franklin County has the oldest housing nearby, with 55% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Woodford | Kentucky median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 20% | 18% | 53 of 120 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 41% | 44% | 73 of 120 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 22% | 25% | 84 of 120 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 1.5% | 19% | 117 of 120 |
| Vacant homes | 7.5% | 13% | 101 of 120 |
| Wood or propane heat | 5.2% | 13% | 106 of 120 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 21/yr | 20/yr | 35 of 120 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 12/yr | 12/yr | 66 of 120 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 72/yr | 73/yr | 65 of 120 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 61/yr | 59/yr | 44 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 Woodford County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in February, March and June.
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