Benton County, Mississippi · Ashland
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With 12% of homes built before 1960 and about 7 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 15.8 times a year here, most often in February. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Benton County gets about 15.8 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Benton County, 4.76 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
28% of occupied homes in Benton County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Mississippi county median of 15.1%.
About 95 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
Benton County covers 407 square miles of northeast Mississippi, with about 7,589 residents and 4,091 homes. The county seat is Ashland, and Hickory Flat, Snow Lake Shores and Lamar round out the largest towns. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1985.
46/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Benton County ranks 48 of 82 Mississippi counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Benton County ranks highest compared with other Mississippi counties.
Benton County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Mississippi. It averaged 56 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 7 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 3rd.
The longest cold spell was straight 7 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -1°F on January 17, 2024. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
The freeze season here runs December to January, 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 7 and end around Mar 28.
Rainfall is about average for Mississippi. Of roughly 60.7 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 15.8 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 52nd of 82. February, March and December see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.76 inches, September 1, 2017. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.26 inches, ending September 15, 2024, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 52 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 44% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Benton near the middle of Mississippi's 82 counties.
Growth since 2000 added 34% of today's homes. In houses that new, the weak points are washing machine hoses, ice maker lines, water heaters and sump pumps rather than the pipes in the walls.
30% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, above 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.
The Census counted 25% of homes as vacant, above the Mississippi county median of 16.8%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 95 times a year here, below the Mississippi county median of 125. 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 Benton County it's 25% utility gas, 46% electric, 23% propane and 5% wood. Wood and propane heat are 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 Benton County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Tippah gets more pipe-freeze nights than Benton. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Benton | Mississippi median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 12% | 15% | 59 of 82 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 44% | 45% | 47 of 82 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 34% | 23% | 13 of 82 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 30% | 20% | 9 of 82 |
| Vacant homes | 25% | 17% | 5 of 82 |
| Wood or propane heat | 28% | 15% | 11 of 82 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 7/yr | 3/yr | 3 of 82 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 16/yr | 16/yr | 52 of 82 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 52/yr | 32/yr | 4 of 82 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 95/yr | 125/yr | 79 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 Benton County: freezing from December to January, heavy rain in February, March 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