Queen Anne's County, Maryland · Centreville
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Pipes freeze in Queen Anne's County on about 12 nights a year, mostly December to February. Older homes, 13% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in September. Queen Anne's County averages 8.6 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Queen Anne's County spike on heavy-rain days, about 8.6 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Queen Anne's County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.43 inches, and about 70 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
19% of occupied homes in Queen Anne's 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 76 times a year in Queen Anne's County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
With 22,038 homes and around 51,825 residents, Queen Anne's County is 372 square miles of eastern Maryland. Besides Centreville, the county seat, the biggest communities are Stevensville, Chester and Grasonville. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1990.
37/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Queen Anne's County ranks 20 of 23 Maryland counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Queen Anne's County ranks highest compared with other Maryland counties.
For frozen pipes, Queen Anne's County is a typical Maryland county, which is still plenty. It averaged 76 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 12 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 23 Maryland counties that's 12th.
On February 21, 2015 the low fell to about 1°F, and in the stretch ending January 2018 the county went 7 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Most freezing nights fall from December to February, 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 Nov 14 and the last spring freeze around Mar 28.
Queen Anne's gets fewer downpours than most Maryland counties, but they still fill basements. About 8.6 days a year bring an inch or more (17th of 23), most often in September, out of 42.9 inches of total precipitation. On August 5, 2020, 3.43 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.2 inches (through August 6, 2020).
About 70 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
Roughly 33% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Queen Anne's among the newer housing stocks of Maryland's 23 counties.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 32% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
About 35% of homes went up between 1980 and 1999. Some houses from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s were plumbed with polybutylene, a gray plastic pipe known for failing at fittings. A plumber can tell you in a few minutes whether you have it.
10% of homes were vacant at survey time. A leak in an empty rental or seasonal house can run for days before anyone notices, which is why those losses tend to be larger.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 76 times a year here, close to the Maryland county median of 76. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Queen Anne's County it's 5% utility gas, 64% electric, 16% propane and 3% wood. Propane heat is 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 Queen Anne's County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Kent gets more pipe-freeze nights than Queen Anne's. Kent County has the oldest housing nearby, with 52% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Queen Anne's | Maryland median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 13% | 20% | 17 of 23 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 33% | 44% | 19 of 23 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 32% | 23% | 4 of 23 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 3% | 2.6% | 11 of 23 |
| Vacant homes | 9.7% | 7.7% | 8 of 23 |
| Wood or propane heat | 19% | 9.3% | 6 of 23 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 12/yr | 12/yr | 12 of 23 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.6/yr | 9.3/yr | 17 of 23 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 70/yr | 70/yr | 12 of 23 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 76/yr | 76/yr | 10 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 Queen Anne's County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in September, October 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