Anne Arundel County, Maryland · Annapolis
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With 19% of homes built before 1960 and about 10 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
July brings the most downpours to Anne Arundel County, part of 9.3 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Anne Arundel County gets about 9.3 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Anne Arundel County, 4.91 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
4% of occupied homes in Anne Arundel County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Maryland county median of 9.3%.
About 84 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 598,166 people live in Anne Arundel County, 415 square miles in eastern Maryland, in roughly 236,262 homes. Besides Annapolis, the county seat, the biggest communities are Glen Burnie, Severn and Odenton. Half the homes here were built before 1983, half after.
44/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Anne Arundel County ranks 16 of 23 Maryland counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Anne Arundel County ranks highest compared with other Maryland counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Anne Arundel County sits near the middle of the state. From 2015–2024 it averaged 10 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 66 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 15th of 23 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 4 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2016. The coldest night reached about 3°F on February 21, 2015. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
The freeze season here runs December to February, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 17 and end around Mar 27.
Rainfall is about average for Maryland. About 9.3 days a year bring an inch or more (12th of 23), most often in July, out of 45.4 inches of total precipitation. On July 22, 2018, 4.91 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 7.35 inches, ending July 24, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 61 days a year swing from below freezing at night to above freezing by day. Those freeze-thaw cycles feed ice dams on roofs, open cracks in foundations and driveways, and stress pipes that are already marginal.
Housing
Maryland's 23 counties range widely in housing age; Anne Arundel ranks 10th, with 45% of its homes built before 1980.
Housing age is mixed: 19% of homes are pre-1960 and 25% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 30% 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 84 times a year here, above the Maryland county median of 76. 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 Anne Arundel County it's 37% utility gas, 50% electric, 3% propane and under 1% wood. Heating equipment, cooking and electrical failures cause most home fires nationally. Even a small kitchen fire can leave soot through the whole house, because smoke follows air currents into closets, ducts and attic space.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Anne Arundel County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Baltimore, Howard, Kent, Prince George's and Queen Anne's get more pipe-freeze nights than Anne Arundel. Baltimore County has the oldest housing nearby, with 59% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Anne Arundel | Maryland median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 19% | 20% | 14 of 23 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 45% | 44% | 10 of 23 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 25% | 23% | 11 of 23 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 1.2% | 2.6% | 15 of 23 |
| Vacant homes | 4.9% | 7.7% | 16 of 23 |
| Wood or propane heat | 3.8% | 9.3% | 19 of 23 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 10/yr | 12/yr | 15 of 23 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 9.3/yr | 9.3/yr | 12 of 23 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 61/yr | 70/yr | 21 of 23 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 84/yr | 76/yr | 4 of 23 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Maryland county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Anne Arundel County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in July, September 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