Yazoo County, Mississippi · Yazoo City
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Yazoo County averages 2 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly midwinter, and 23% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 15.8 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 Yazoo County gets about 15.8 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Yazoo County, 5.01 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
20% of occupied homes in Yazoo County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Mississippi county median of 15.1%.
With 137 muggy nights a year, mold in Yazoo County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 10,485 homes and around 24,835 residents, Yazoo County is 922 square miles of western Mississippi. Besides Yazoo City, the county seat, the biggest communities are Benton, Bentonia and Eden. Half the homes here were built before 1982, half after.
57/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Yazoo County ranks 25 of 82 Mississippi counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Yazoo County ranks highest compared with other Mississippi counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Yazoo County sits near the middle of the state. It averaged 27 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 2 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 47th.
The freeze season here runs midwinter, 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 16 and end around Feb 22.
Rainfall is about average for Mississippi. About 15.8 days a year bring an inch or more (52nd of 82), most often in April, out of 58.4 inches of total precipitation. On April 3, 2017, 5.01 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 8.41 inches, ending August 25, 2022, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 26 days a year swing from below freezing at night to above freezing by day. Those freeze-thaw cycles feed ice dams on roofs, open cracks in foundations and driveways, and stress pipes that are already marginal.
Housing
48% of homes in Yazoo County predate 1980, close to the Mississippi county median of 45.1%, which ranks 30th of Mississippi's 82 counties.
23% 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.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 27% 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.
18% 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.
Renters occupy 45% 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
Yazoo County averages 137 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in April. 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 Yazoo County's occupied homes: 39% utility gas, 40% electric, 19% propane and under 1% wood. Propane heat is more common here than the state median. Have chimneys swept and fuel-burning appliances serviced each fall, and keep three feet clear around stoves and space heaters.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Yazoo County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Holmes and Madison get more pipe-freeze nights than Yazoo. Hinds County has the oldest housing nearby, with 62% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Yazoo | Mississippi median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 23% | 15% | 7 of 82 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 48% | 45% | 30 of 82 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 26% | 23% | 34 of 82 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 18% | 20% | 52 of 82 |
| Vacant homes | 16% | 17% | 45 of 82 |
| Wood or propane heat | 20% | 15% | 28 of 82 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 2/yr | 3/yr | 47 of 82 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 16/yr | 16/yr | 52 of 82 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 26/yr | 32/yr | 51 of 82 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 137/yr | 125/yr | 14 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 Yazoo County: freezing from midwinter, 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