Itawamba County, Mississippi · Fulton
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With 13% of homes built before 1960 and about 5 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 17.3 times a year here, most often in February. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Itawamba County gets about 17.3 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Itawamba County, 4.05 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
14% of occupied homes in Itawamba County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Mississippi county median of 15.1%.
About 105 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
With 10,539 homes and around 24,036 residents, Itawamba County is 533 square miles of northeast Mississippi. Fulton is the county seat; Mantachie, Kirkville and Tremont are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1984, half after.
58/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Itawamba County ranks 21 of 82 Mississippi counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Itawamba County ranks highest compared with other Mississippi counties.
Itawamba County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Mississippi. From 2015–2024 it averaged 5 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 47 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 11th of 82 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 4 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about 5°F on January 17, 2024. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
Most freezing nights fall from January, 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 11 and end around Mar 22.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Mississippi. About 17.3 days a year bring an inch or more (18th of 82), most often in February, out of 60.3 inches of total precipitation. On August 31, 2021, 4.05 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.65 inches, ending February 22, 2019, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 46 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
45% of homes in Itawamba County predate 1980, close to the Mississippi county median of 45.1%, which ranks 46th of Mississippi's 82 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 13% of homes are pre-1960 and 22% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
33% 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 20% 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.
Beyond water
Itawamba County averages 105 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Itawamba County it's 32% utility gas, 53% electric, 12% propane and 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 Itawamba County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Prentiss and Tishomingo get more pipe-freeze nights than Itawamba. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Tishomingo County has the oldest housing nearby, with 49% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Itawamba | Mississippi median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 13% | 15% | 50 of 82 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 45% | 45% | 46 of 82 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 22% | 23% | 47 of 82 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 20% | 20% | 42 of 82 |
| Vacant homes | 8.7% | 17% | 77 of 82 |
| Wood or propane heat | 14% | 15% | 47 of 82 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 5/yr | 3/yr | 11 of 82 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 17/yr | 16/yr | 18 of 82 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 46/yr | 32/yr | 9 of 82 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 105/yr | 125/yr | 74 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 Itawamba County: freezing from January, heavy rain in February, 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