Forrest County, Mississippi · Hattiesburg
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Pipes freeze in Forrest County on about 2 nights a year, mostly midwinter. Older homes, 21% of the stock here, are most at risk.
January brings the most downpours to Forrest County, part of 18.9 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in Forrest County spike on heavy-rain days, about 18.9 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Forrest County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 6.38 inches, and about 22 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
5% of occupied homes in Forrest County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Mississippi county median of 15.1%.
About 136 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
About 78,272 people live in Forrest County, 466 square miles in southeast Mississippi, in roughly 33,753 homes. The county seat is Hattiesburg, and Petal, Rawls Springs and Glendale round out the largest towns. The county's median home was built in 1982.
68/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Forrest County ranks 4 of 82 Mississippi counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Forrest County ranks highest compared with other Mississippi counties.
For frozen pipes, Forrest County is a typical Mississippi county, which is still plenty. It averaged 22 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.
With only about 22 freezing nights a year, many homes here aren't built for cold, so a single arctic outbreak can burst pipes across the county. The record low in this data was about 12°F, on January 17, 2018.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Mississippi. Of roughly 65.9 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 18.9 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 8th of 82. January, March and April see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 6.38 inches, December 28, 2018. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 7.26 inches (through March 12, 2016).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 22 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 48% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Forrest near the middle of Mississippi's 82 counties.
21% 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.
About 26% of homes went up between 1980 and 1999. Some houses from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s were plumbed with polybutylene, a gray plastic pipe known for failing at fittings. A plumber can tell you in a few minutes whether you have it.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 10% 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 43% 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
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 136 times a year here, close to the Mississippi county median of 125. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Forrest County it's 26% utility gas, 68% electric, 4% propane and under 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 Forrest County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Forrest gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Jones County has the oldest housing nearby, with 48% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Forrest | Mississippi median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 21% | 15% | 14 of 82 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 48% | 45% | 31 of 82 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 27% | 23% | 29 of 82 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 9.7% | 20% | 70 of 82 |
| Vacant homes | 11% | 17% | 74 of 82 |
| Wood or propane heat | 4.9% | 15% | 78 of 82 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 2/yr | 3/yr | 47 of 82 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 19/yr | 16/yr | 8 of 82 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 22/yr | 32/yr | 68 of 82 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 136/yr | 125/yr | 17 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 Forrest 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