Covington County, Mississippi · Collins
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Covington County averages 2 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly midwinter, and 10% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 16.4 times a year here, most often in January. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Covington County gets about 16.4 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 29 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
15% of occupied homes in Covington County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Mississippi county median of 15.1%.
With 129 muggy nights a year, mold in Covington County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 8,397 homes and around 18,148 residents, Covington County is 414 square miles of southern Mississippi. Besides Collins, the county seat, the biggest communities are Mount Olive and Seminary. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1989.
35/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Covington County ranks 77 of 82 Mississippi counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Covington County ranks highest compared with other Mississippi counties.
For frozen pipes, Covington County is a typical Mississippi county, which is still plenty. It averaged 30 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.
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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 15 and the last spring freeze around Mar 10.
Rainfall is about average for Mississippi. The county gets about 61.8 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 16.4 days of an inch or more (38th of 82). Those downpours cluster in January, February and April, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 6.22 inches on December 28, 2018. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 6.66 inches (through December 30, 2018).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 29 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
34% of homes in Covington County predate 1980, below the Mississippi county median of 45.1%, which ranks 68th of Mississippi's 82 counties.
Growth since 2000 added 28% 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.
38% 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 32% 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.
Beyond water
About 129 nights a year in Covington County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (34th of 82 counties). April is the wettest month. 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 Covington County's occupied homes: 12% utility gas, 73% electric, 14% propane and 1% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Covington County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Smith gets more pipe-freeze nights than Covington. Jones County has the oldest housing nearby, with 48% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Covington | Mississippi median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 9.6% | 15% | 70 of 82 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 34% | 45% | 68 of 82 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 28% | 23% | 25 of 82 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 32% | 20% | 7 of 82 |
| Vacant homes | 13% | 17% | 69 of 82 |
| Wood or propane heat | 15% | 15% | 43 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 | 38 of 82 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 29/yr | 32/yr | 47 of 82 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 129/yr | 125/yr | 34 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 Covington County: freezing from midwinter, 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