Copiah County, Mississippi · Hazlehurst
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Copiah County averages 2 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly midwinter, and 18% of its homes predate 1960.
January brings the most downpours to Copiah County, part of 16 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Copiah County gets about 16 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Copiah County, 6.51 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
20% of occupied homes in Copiah 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 134 times a year in Copiah County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 27,855 people live in Copiah County, 777 square miles in southwest Mississippi, in roughly 12,475 homes. The county seat is Hazlehurst, and Crystal Springs, Wesson and Beauregard round out the largest towns. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1985.
50/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Copiah County ranks 37 of 82 Mississippi counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Copiah County ranks highest compared with other Mississippi counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Copiah County sits near the middle of the state. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 2 nights a year at or below 20°F (47th of 82) and 25 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Most freezing nights fall from midwinter, 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.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 14 and end around Feb 27.
Rainfall is about average for Mississippi. About 16 days a year bring an inch or more (46th of 82), most often in January, out of 61.3 inches of total precipitation. On October 26, 2015, 6.51 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 8.13 inches, ending October 27, 2015, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 25 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
Roughly 42% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Copiah among the newer housing stocks of Mississippi's 82 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 18% predate 1960 and 25% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
32% date from 1980 to 1999, the window when polybutylene, a gray flexible plastic supply pipe, was used in some homes. It's prone to leaks at the fittings, so it's worth checking for in a house from those years.
Here 27% of housing is manufactured homes. Check the skirting and the heat tape on the main water line every fall, because that one exposed line is what freezes.
19% 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
About 134 nights a year in Copiah County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (22nd 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Copiah County homes break down as 21% utility gas, 58% electric, 19% propane and 2% wood. Propane 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 Copiah County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Copiah gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Hinds County has the oldest housing nearby, with 62% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Copiah | Mississippi median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 18% | 15% | 25 of 82 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 42% | 45% | 56 of 82 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 25% | 23% | 35 of 82 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 27% | 20% | 18 of 82 |
| Vacant homes | 19% | 17% | 25 of 82 |
| Wood or propane heat | 20% | 15% | 27 of 82 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 2/yr | 3/yr | 47 of 82 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 16/yr | 16/yr | 46 of 82 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 25/yr | 32/yr | 54 of 82 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 134/yr | 125/yr | 22 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 Copiah County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in January, March 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