Kemper County, Mississippi · De Kalb
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Pipes freeze in Kemper County on about 3 nights a year, mostly January. Older homes, 13% of the stock here, are most at risk.
April brings the most downpours to Kemper County, part of 14.7 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
13% 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.
Kemper County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 4.4 inches, and about 38 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
37% of occupied homes in Kemper County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Mississippi county median of 15.1%.
With 120 muggy nights a year, mold in Kemper County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
Kemper County covers 766 square miles of eastern Mississippi, with about 8,729 residents and 3,948 homes. The county seat is De Kalb, and Scooba and Porterville round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1979, half after.
35/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Kemper County ranks 78 of 82 Mississippi counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Kemper County ranks highest compared with other Mississippi counties.
Kemper County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Mississippi. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 3 nights a year at or below 20°F (28th of 82) and 39 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs January. 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 Mar 6.
Kemper gets fewer downpours than most Mississippi counties, but they still fill basements. About 14.7 days a year bring an inch or more (77th of 82), most often in April, out of 55.1 inches of total precipitation. On December 28, 2018, 4.4 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.15 inches, ending August 25, 2022, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 38 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 52% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Kemper among the oldest housing stocks of Mississippi's 82 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 13% of homes are pre-1960 and 16% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
About 32% 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.
Here 22% 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
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 120 times a year here, close to the Mississippi county median of 125. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Kemper County homes break down as 10% utility gas, 52% electric, 34% propane and 4% wood. Wood and propane heat are 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 Kemper County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Kemper gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Winston County has the oldest housing nearby, with 54% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Kemper | Mississippi median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 13% | 15% | 53 of 82 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 52% | 45% | 16 of 82 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 16% | 23% | 72 of 82 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 22% | 20% | 35 of 82 |
| Vacant homes | 18% | 17% | 29 of 82 |
| Wood or propane heat | 37% | 15% | 4 of 82 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 3/yr | 3/yr | 28 of 82 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 15/yr | 16/yr | 77 of 82 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 38/yr | 32/yr | 29 of 82 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 120/yr | 125/yr | 48 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 Kemper County: freezing from January, 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