Attala County, Mississippi · Kosciusko
Water spreading, a burst pipe, sewage, mold or smoke? Call to be connected with a restoration company that serves Kosciusko, Sallis and Ethel. Start the steps below while you wait.
Answered 24/7 by a participating local provider. We're a referral service and don't do the work ourselves. How it works
Start here
Pick the closest match. These steps limit the damage and protect your insurance claim. Skip anything that isn't safe.
With 21% of homes built before 1960 and about 3 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
February brings the most downpours to Attala County, part of 16.3 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in Attala County spike on heavy-rain days, about 16.3 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Attala County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.99 inches, and about 41 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
23% of occupied homes in Attala County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Mississippi county median of 15.1%.
About 117 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
With 8,342 homes and around 17,526 residents, Attala County is 735 square miles of central Mississippi. The county seat is Kosciusko, and Sallis, Ethel and McCool round out the largest towns. The county's median home was built in 1981.
59/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Attala County ranks 17 of 82 Mississippi counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Attala County ranks highest compared with other Mississippi counties.
Attala is on the colder side of Mississippi for pipes. It averaged 43 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 3 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 28th.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 3 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near 6°F on December 23, 2022.
The freeze season here runs January, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 12 and the last spring freeze around Mar 16.
Rainfall is about average for Mississippi. About 16.3 days a year bring an inch or more (39th of 82), most often in February, out of 59.2 inches of total precipitation. On March 11, 2016, 3.99 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 6.12 inches (through February 13, 2020).
About 41 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
49% of homes in Attala County predate 1980, above the Mississippi county median of 45.1%, which ranks 23rd of Mississippi's 82 counties.
Before 1960 is when 21% of these homes went up. Galvanized supply lines and cast iron drains were standard then, and after 60-plus years both corrode and crack, often out of sight inside a wall or under a slab.
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.
19% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, close to the Mississippi county median of 20%. Their water lines run under the floor behind the skirting, so a torn skirt or failed heat tape freezes them faster than lines in a site-built house.
With 21% 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
About 117 nights a year in Attala County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (56th of 82 counties). February 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 Attala County's occupied homes: 33% utility gas, 44% electric, 21% propane and 2% wood. Propane heat is above the Mississippi 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 Attala County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Choctaw and Montgomery get more pipe-freeze nights than Attala. Winston County has the oldest housing nearby, with 54% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Attala | Mississippi median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 21% | 15% | 15 of 82 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 49% | 45% | 23 of 82 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 21% | 23% | 51 of 82 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 19% | 20% | 43 of 82 |
| Vacant homes | 21% | 17% | 20 of 82 |
| Wood or propane heat | 23% | 15% | 23 of 82 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 3/yr | 3/yr | 28 of 82 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 16/yr | 16/yr | 39 of 82 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 41/yr | 32/yr | 18 of 82 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 117/yr | 125/yr | 56 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 Attala County: freezing from January, heavy rain in January, February and April.
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