Panola County, Mississippi · Batesville
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Panola County averages 5 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly January, and 17% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in March. Panola County averages 14.5 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Panola County gets about 14.5 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 41 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
32% of occupied homes in Panola County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Mississippi county median of 15.1%.
About 111 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 14,717 homes and around 32,808 residents, Panola County is 685 square miles of northern Mississippi. Besides Batesville, the county seat, the biggest communities are Sardis, Como and Courtland. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1988.
47/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Panola County ranks 45 of 82 Mississippi counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Panola County ranks highest compared with other Mississippi counties.
Panola is on the colder side of Mississippi for pipes. It averaged 44 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 5 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 11th.
On December 23, 2022 the low fell to about 3°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 7 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 12 and the last spring freeze around Mar 16.
Panola gets fewer downpours than most Mississippi counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 58.8 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 14.5 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 82nd of 82. March, April and December see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 5.49 inches, June 9, 2021. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 9.73 inches (through June 10, 2021).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 41 times a year here. They're the main driver of ice dams and of water working its way through foundation cracks in late winter.
Housing
Mississippi's 82 counties range widely in housing age; Panola ranks 60th, with 40% of its homes built before 1980.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 17% predate 1960 and 23% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
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 26% 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
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 111 times a year here, below the Mississippi county median of 125. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Panola County's occupied homes: 21% utility gas, 47% electric, 31% propane and under 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 Panola County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Lafayette and Tate get more pipe-freeze nights than Panola. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Quitman County has the oldest housing nearby, with 63% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Panola | Mississippi median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 17% | 15% | 33 of 82 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 40% | 45% | 60 of 82 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 23% | 23% | 43 of 82 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 26% | 20% | 21 of 82 |
| Vacant homes | 16% | 17% | 46 of 82 |
| Wood or propane heat | 32% | 15% | 7 of 82 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 5/yr | 3/yr | 11 of 82 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 15/yr | 16/yr | 82 of 82 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 41/yr | 32/yr | 18 of 82 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 111/yr | 125/yr | 65 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 Panola County: freezing from January, heavy rain in March, 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