Holmes County, Mississippi · Lexington
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With 18% of homes built before 1960 and about 3 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
February brings the most downpours to Holmes County, part of 16 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Holmes County gets about 16 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Holmes County, 4.06 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
19% of occupied homes in Holmes 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 131 times a year in Holmes County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
With 7,595 homes and around 16,191 residents, Holmes County is 757 square miles of central Mississippi. Lexington is the county seat; Durant, Tchula and Goodman are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1982, half after.
59/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Holmes County ranks 18 of 82 Mississippi counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Holmes County ranks highest compared with other Mississippi counties.
Holmes County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Mississippi. From 2015–2024 it averaged 3 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 30 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 28th of 82 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 3 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near 9°F on January 17, 2024.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs midwinter. 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 15 and end around Feb 25.
Rainfall is about average for Mississippi. The county gets about 57.1 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 16 days of an inch or more (46th of 82). Those downpours cluster in January, February and April, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 4.06 inches on April 3, 2017. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.48 inches, ending April 11, 2024, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 29 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 45% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Holmes near the middle of Mississippi's 82 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 18% predate 1960 and 19% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
About 36% 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.
26% 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 19% 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.
Renters occupy 39% 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
Holmes County averages 131 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in February. 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, Holmes County homes break down as 28% utility gas, 52% electric, 17% 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 Holmes County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Holmes gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Leflore County has the oldest housing nearby, with 66% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Holmes | Mississippi median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 18% | 15% | 23 of 82 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 45% | 45% | 43 of 82 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 19% | 23% | 62 of 82 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 26% | 20% | 22 of 82 |
| Vacant homes | 19% | 17% | 28 of 82 |
| Wood or propane heat | 19% | 15% | 30 of 82 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 3/yr | 3/yr | 28 of 82 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 16/yr | 16/yr | 46 of 82 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 29/yr | 32/yr | 47 of 82 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 131/yr | 125/yr | 30 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 Holmes 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