Garrett County, Maryland · Oakland
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With 22% of homes built before 1960 and about 42 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Basements flood here mostly in September. Garrett County averages 5.6 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Garrett County spike on heavy-rain days, about 5.6 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Garrett County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 2.84 inches, and about 100 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
31% of occupied homes in Garrett County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Maryland county median of 9.3%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 5 times a year in Garrett County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
With 18,642 homes and around 28,615 residents, Garrett County is 649 square miles of northwest Maryland. The county seat is Oakland, and Mountain Lake Park, Grantsville and Finzel round out the largest towns. The county's median home was built in 1982.
49/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Garrett County ranks 13 of 23 Maryland counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Garrett County ranks highest compared with other Maryland counties.
Garrett is on the colder side of Maryland for pipes. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 42 nights a year at or below 20°F (1st of 23) and 130 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 14 days below freezing (ending January 2018), and the low bottomed out near -11°F on January 7, 2018.
Most freezing nights fall from November to March, 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 Oct 19 and the last spring freeze around Apr 30.
Garrett gets fewer downpours than most Maryland counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 48.6 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 5.6 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 23rd of 23. June, September and October see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.84 inches, July 29, 2017. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.28 inches (through September 10, 2018).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 100 days a year. Each cycle melts and refreezes water at roof edges and in foundation cracks, which is how ice dams and basement seepage get started.
Housing
Roughly 48% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Garrett near the middle of Maryland's 23 counties.
The mix runs from 22% built before 1960 to 21% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
31% 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 9% 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.
The Census counted 33% of homes as vacant, above the Maryland county median of 7.7%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
About 5 nights a year in Garrett County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (23rd of 23 counties). May is the wettest month. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30 to 50%. Basements can pass 60% on their own in summer, so a dehumidifier matters even without a leak, and anything wet should be dried within 24 to 48 hours.
Mold remediation: what to expectMain heating fuel in Garrett County's occupied homes: 14% utility gas, 26% electric, 21% propane and 10% wood. Wood and propane heat are above the Maryland 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 Garrett County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Garrett gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Allegany County has the oldest housing nearby, with 77% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Garrett | Maryland median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 22% | 20% | 9 of 23 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 48% | 44% | 9 of 23 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 21% | 23% | 14 of 23 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 8.9% | 2.6% | 1 of 23 |
| Vacant homes | 33% | 7.7% | 2 of 23 |
| Wood or propane heat | 31% | 9.3% | 1 of 23 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 42/yr | 12/yr | 1 of 23 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.6/yr | 9.3/yr | 23 of 23 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 100/yr | 70/yr | 1 of 23 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 5/yr | 76/yr | 23 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 Garrett County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in June, September and October.
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