Amite County, Mississippi · Liberty
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With 13% of homes built before 1960 and about 2 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Amite County averages 19.2 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
13% 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.
Amite County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 9.21 inches, and about 21 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
18% of occupied homes in Amite County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Mississippi county median of 15.1%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 138 times a year in Amite County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Amite County covers 730 square miles of southwest Mississippi, with about 12,565 residents and 7,346 homes. Liberty is the county seat; Gloster is the next largest community. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1985.
56/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Amite County ranks 27 of 82 Mississippi counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Amite County ranks highest compared with other Mississippi counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Amite County sits near the middle of the state. It averaged 22 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 2 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 82 Mississippi counties that's 47th.
Hard freezes are uncommon here, about 22 nights a year at or below 32°F, and that's exactly why they do damage: pipes in attics, exterior walls and slab-edge plumbing are rarely insulated. The coldest night in the record was about 14°F on January 17, 2024.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Mississippi. Of roughly 67.7 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 19.2 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 7th of 82. January, April and May see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 9.21 inches, October 26, 2015. The worst three-day stretch dropped 11.91 inches, ending August 14, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 21 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
42% of homes in Amite County predate 1980, close to the Mississippi county median of 45.1%, which ranks 57th of Mississippi's 82 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 13% predate 1960 and 27% 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 32% 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 39% of the housing here. Water lines in the underbelly depend on intact skirting and working heat tape, and they're usually the first to freeze in a cold snap.
With 20% of homes empty at survey time, landlords and seasonal owners should shut off the main or schedule checks in winter. An unheated vacant house is also where many policies limit freeze coverage.
Beyond water
Amite County averages 138 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in August. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Amite County's occupied homes: 11% utility gas, 71% electric, 15% propane and 3% wood. Wood heat is more common here than the state median. Have chimneys swept and fuel-burning appliances serviced each fall, and keep three feet clear around stoves and space heaters.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Amite County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Amite gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Wilkinson County has the oldest housing nearby, with 49% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Amite | Mississippi median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 13% | 15% | 49 of 82 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 42% | 45% | 57 of 82 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 27% | 23% | 30 of 82 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 39% | 20% | 1 of 82 |
| Vacant homes | 20% | 17% | 21 of 82 |
| Wood or propane heat | 18% | 15% | 33 of 82 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 2/yr | 3/yr | 47 of 82 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 19/yr | 16/yr | 7 of 82 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 21/yr | 32/yr | 73 of 82 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 138/yr | 125/yr | 10 of 82 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Mississippi county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Amite County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in January, April and May.
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