Monroe County, Mississippi · Aberdeen
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Monroe County averages 4 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly January, and 19% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 15.3 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 Monroe County gets about 15.3 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Monroe County, 4.26 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
13% of occupied homes in Monroe County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Mississippi county median of 15.1%.
About 112 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
Monroe County covers 765 square miles of northeast Mississippi, with about 33,747 residents and 16,843 homes. Aberdeen is the county seat; Amory, Nettleton and Hatley are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1982, half after.
52/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Monroe County ranks 34 of 82 Mississippi counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Monroe County ranks highest compared with other Mississippi counties.
Monroe County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Mississippi. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 4 nights a year at or below 20°F (17th of 82) and 42 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
The longest cold spell was straight 3 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about 7°F on January 17, 2018. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
The freeze season here runs January, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 13 and end around Mar 19.
Monroe gets fewer downpours than most Mississippi counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 57.7 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 15.3 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 71st of 82. February, April and December see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.26 inches, February 11, 2020. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.78 inches, ending February 13, 2020, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 41 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 Monroe near the middle of Mississippi's 82 counties.
19% 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.
29% 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.
Here 19% 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 112 times a year here, below the Mississippi county median of 125. Mold grows when indoor humidity stays above about 60%, the EPA's ceiling. A basement dehumidifier set to 50% and drying anything wet within 24 to 48 hours prevents most problems.
Mold remediation: what to expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Monroe County it's 24% utility gas, 63% electric, 12% propane and 1% wood. Heating equipment, cooking and electrical failures cause most home fires nationally. Even a small kitchen fire can leave soot through the whole house, because smoke follows air currents into closets, ducts and attic space.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Monroe County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Itawamba gets more pipe-freeze nights than Monroe. Chickasaw County has the oldest housing nearby, with 54% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Monroe | Mississippi median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 19% | 15% | 18 of 82 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 48% | 45% | 29 of 82 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 24% | 23% | 41 of 82 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 19% | 20% | 45 of 82 |
| Vacant homes | 18% | 17% | 36 of 82 |
| Wood or propane heat | 13% | 15% | 52 of 82 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 4/yr | 3/yr | 17 of 82 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 15/yr | 16/yr | 71 of 82 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 41/yr | 32/yr | 18 of 82 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 112/yr | 125/yr | 63 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 Monroe County: freezing from January, heavy rain in February, April and December.
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