Jefferson County, Mississippi · Fayette
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With 5% of homes built before 1960 and about 2 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
January brings the most downpours to Jefferson County, part of 16.7 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
5% of homes here predate 1960, when clay and cast iron sewer laterals were standard. Roots and cracks in those lines are a common cause of backups.
Jefferson County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 7 inches, and about 24 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
19% of occupied homes in Jefferson County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Mississippi county median of 15.1%.
With 130 muggy nights a year, mold in Jefferson County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 3,390 homes and around 7,068 residents, Jefferson County is 520 square miles of southwest Mississippi. Fayette is the county seat. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1986.
33/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Jefferson County ranks 80 of 82 Mississippi counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Jefferson County ranks highest compared with other Mississippi counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Jefferson County sits near the middle of the state. It averaged 25 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.
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 22.
Rainfall is about average for Mississippi. The county gets about 60.2 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 16.7 days of an inch or more (33rd of 82). Those downpours cluster in January, March and May, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 7 inches on October 26, 2015. The worst three-day stretch dropped 8.86 inches, ending October 27, 2015, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 24 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
39% of homes in Jefferson County predate 1980, below the Mississippi county median of 45.1%, which ranks 61st of Mississippi's 82 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 5% of homes are pre-1960 and 24% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 37% of the county's homes. If yours is from those decades, look under the sinks and at the water heater for gray plastic pipe stamped PB, which is polybutylene and leak-prone.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 37% 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.
With 26% of homes empty at survey time, landlords and seasonal owners should shut off the main or schedule checks in winter. An unheated vacant house is also where many policies limit freeze coverage.
Beyond water
Jefferson County averages 130 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in January. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Jefferson County it's 20% utility gas, 61% electric, 18% propane and 1% wood. Propane heat is above the Mississippi norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Jefferson County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Jefferson gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Adams County has the oldest housing nearby, with 69% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Jefferson | Mississippi median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 4.9% | 15% | 80 of 82 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 39% | 45% | 61 of 82 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 24% | 23% | 38 of 82 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 37% | 20% | 3 of 82 |
| Vacant homes | 26% | 17% | 4 of 82 |
| Wood or propane heat | 19% | 15% | 29 of 82 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 2/yr | 3/yr | 47 of 82 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 17/yr | 16/yr | 33 of 82 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 24/yr | 32/yr | 59 of 82 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 130/yr | 125/yr | 33 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 Jefferson County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in January, March and May.
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