Tate County, Mississippi · Senatobia
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Tate County averages 6 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly January, and 10% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 15.2 times a year here, most often in March. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Tate County gets about 15.2 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Tate County, 4.59 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
29% of occupied homes in Tate 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 110 times a year in Tate County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Tate County covers 405 square miles of northern Mississippi, with about 28,321 residents and 11,694 homes. Senatobia is the county seat; Coldwater, Arkabutla and Strayhorn are the next largest communities. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1992.
38/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Tate County ranks 73 of 82 Mississippi counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Tate County ranks highest compared with other Mississippi counties.
Tate County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Mississippi. It averaged 43 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 6 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 6th.
On December 23, 2022 the low fell to about 2°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 8 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
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 12 and end around Mar 18.
Tate gets fewer downpours than most Mississippi counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 59 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 15.2 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 74th of 82. February, March and December see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.59 inches, September 1, 2017. The worst three-day stretch dropped 7.47 inches, ending March 11, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 40 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 29% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Tate among the newer housing stocks of Mississippi's 82 counties.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 31% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
40% 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.
21% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, close to the Mississippi county median of 20%. Their water lines run under the floor behind the skirting, so a torn skirt or failed heat tape freezes them faster than lines in a site-built house.
Beyond water
Tate County averages 110 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in March. 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 Tate County's occupied homes: 14% utility gas, 57% electric, 26% propane and 3% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than in most Mississippi counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Tate County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Tate gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Panola County has the oldest housing nearby, with 40% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Tate | Mississippi median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 10% | 15% | 66 of 82 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 29% | 45% | 74 of 82 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 31% | 23% | 18 of 82 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 21% | 20% | 41 of 82 |
| Vacant homes | 5.8% | 17% | 82 of 82 |
| Wood or propane heat | 29% | 15% | 8 of 82 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 6/yr | 3/yr | 6 of 82 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 15/yr | 16/yr | 74 of 82 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 40/yr | 32/yr | 23 of 82 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 110/yr | 125/yr | 67 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 Tate County: freezing from January, heavy rain in February, March 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