Coahoma County, Mississippi · Clarksdale
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Coahoma County averages 4 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly January, and 37% of its homes predate 1960.
April brings the most downpours to Coahoma County, part of 15.7 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Coahoma County gets about 15.7 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Coahoma County, 5.03 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
9% of occupied homes in Coahoma County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Mississippi county median of 15.1%.
About 120 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
Coahoma County covers 553 square miles of northwest Mississippi, with about 20,540 residents and 10,189 homes. Clarksdale is the county seat; Friars Point, Jonestown and Lyon are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1970, half after.
66/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Coahoma County ranks 7 of 82 Mississippi counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Coahoma County ranks highest compared with other Mississippi counties.
Coahoma County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Mississippi. It averaged 35 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 4 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 17th.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 7 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near 5°F on December 23, 2022.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs January. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 13 and end around Mar 7.
Coahoma gets fewer downpours than most Mississippi counties, but they still fill basements. About 15.7 days a year bring an inch or more (58th of 82), most often in April, out of 56.4 inches of total precipitation. On March 10, 2016, 5.03 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 9.24 inches, ending June 10, 2021, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 32 times a year here. They're the main driver of ice dams and of water working its way through foundation cracks in late winter.
Housing
67% of homes in Coahoma County predate 1980, above the Mississippi county median of 45.1%, which ranks 2nd of Mississippi's 82 counties.
37% were built before 1960. Homes from that era often still have galvanized steel supply pipe, which rusts from the inside until it pinholes, and cast iron drains that crack with age. Slow leaks behind walls are a common start to water damage in these houses.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 7% 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.
Renters occupy 48% of homes. If you rent, the building is usually the landlord's to repair, but your belongings are only covered by renters insurance.
Beyond water
About 120 nights a year in Coahoma County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (48th of 82 counties). March 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 Coahoma County's occupied homes: 54% utility gas, 35% electric, 9% propane and under 1% wood. Most homes here heat with gas or electricity, so cooking and electrical faults are the likelier fire sources. Even a contained kitchen fire can send soot through the ductwork to every room.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Coahoma County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Tunica gets more pipe-freeze nights than Coahoma. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Coahoma | Mississippi median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 37% | 15% | 1 of 82 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 67% | 45% | 2 of 82 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 15% | 23% | 76 of 82 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 7.4% | 20% | 75 of 82 |
| Vacant homes | 18% | 17% | 36 of 82 |
| Wood or propane heat | 8.8% | 15% | 63 of 82 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 4/yr | 3/yr | 17 of 82 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 16/yr | 16/yr | 58 of 82 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 32/yr | 32/yr | 41 of 82 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 120/yr | 125/yr | 48 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 Coahoma County: freezing from January, heavy rain in March, April 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