Webster County, Mississippi · Walthall
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Webster County averages 4 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly January, and 15% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 15 times a year here, most often in April. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Webster County gets about 15 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Webster County, 4.11 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
24% of occupied homes in Webster County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Mississippi county median of 15.1%.
With 109 muggy nights a year, mold in Webster County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
Webster County covers 421 square miles of northern Mississippi, with about 9,972 residents and 5,114 homes. Walthall is the county seat; Eupora, Mathiston and Mantee are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1983, half after.
40/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Webster County ranks 69 of 82 Mississippi counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Webster County ranks highest compared with other Mississippi counties.
Webster County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Mississippi. It averaged 46 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 4 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 17th.
On December 23, 2022 the low fell to about 5°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 6 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.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 12 and end around Mar 21.
Webster gets fewer downpours than most Mississippi counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 55.3 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 15 days of an inch or more (76th of 82). Those downpours cluster in January, February and April, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 4.11 inches on August 31, 2021. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.87 inches, ending February 22, 2019, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 44 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
45% of homes in Webster County predate 1980, close to the Mississippi county median of 45.1%, which ranks 45th of Mississippi's 82 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 15% of homes are pre-1960 and 21% 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 35% 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 19% 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 20% 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.
Beyond water
Webster County averages 109 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in February. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Webster County it's 28% utility gas, 48% electric, 22% 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 Webster County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Calhoun gets more pipe-freeze nights than Webster. Chickasaw County has the oldest housing nearby, with 54% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Webster | Mississippi median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 15% | 15% | 44 of 82 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 45% | 45% | 45 of 82 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 21% | 23% | 55 of 82 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 19% | 20% | 46 of 82 |
| Vacant homes | 20% | 17% | 21 of 82 |
| Wood or propane heat | 24% | 15% | 19 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 | 76 of 82 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 44/yr | 32/yr | 12 of 82 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 109/yr | 125/yr | 70 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 Webster 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