Tallahatchie County, Mississippi · Charleston
Water spreading, a burst pipe, sewage, mold or smoke? Call to be connected with a restoration company that serves Tutwiler, Charleston and Webb. Start the steps below while you wait.
Answered 24/7 by a participating local provider. We're a referral service and don't do the work ourselves. How it works
Start here
Pick the closest match. These steps limit the damage and protect your insurance claim. Skip anything that isn't safe.
Tallahatchie County averages 4 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly January, and 18% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 15.6 times a year here, most often in December. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Sewage backups in Tallahatchie County spike on heavy-rain days, about 15.6 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 32 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
37% of occupied homes in Tallahatchie County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Mississippi county median of 15.1%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 122 times a year in Tallahatchie County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 11,764 people live in Tallahatchie County, 646 square miles in northern Mississippi, in roughly 5,505 homes. Besides Charleston, the county seat, the biggest communities are Tutwiler, Webb and Sumner. Half the homes here were built before 1978, half after.
58/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Tallahatchie County ranks 22 of 82 Mississippi counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Tallahatchie County ranks highest compared with other Mississippi counties.
Tallahatchie 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 34 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 7 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near 7°F on December 23, 2022.
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 15 and end around Mar 5.
Tallahatchie gets fewer downpours than most Mississippi counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 58.7 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 15.6 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 60th of 82. March, April and December see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.89 inches, June 9, 2021. The worst three-day stretch dropped 9.95 inches, ending June 10, 2021, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 32 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; Tallahatchie ranks 11th, with 55% of its homes built before 1980.
Housing age is mixed: 18% 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.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 29% 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 27% 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 22% 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.
Renters occupy 36% of homes. If you rent, the building is usually the landlord's to repair, but your belongings are only covered by renters insurance.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 122 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 expectMain heating fuel in Tallahatchie County's occupied homes: 29% utility gas, 34% 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 Tallahatchie County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Panola and Yalobusha get more pipe-freeze nights than Tallahatchie. Coahoma County has the oldest housing nearby, with 67% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Tallahatchie | Mississippi median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 18% | 15% | 20 of 82 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 55% | 45% | 11 of 82 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 16% | 23% | 73 of 82 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 27% | 20% | 18 of 82 |
| Vacant homes | 22% | 17% | 15 of 82 |
| Wood or propane heat | 37% | 15% | 5 of 82 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 4/yr | 3/yr | 17 of 82 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 16/yr | 16/yr | 60 of 82 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 32/yr | 32/yr | 41 of 82 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 122/yr | 125/yr | 45 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 Tallahatchie 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