Chemung County, New York · Elmira
Water spreading, a burst pipe, sewage, mold or smoke? Call to be connected with a restoration company that serves Elmira, Southport and Horseheads. 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.
With 58% of homes built before 1960 and about 52 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
October brings the most downpours to Chemung County, part of 5 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in Chemung County spike on heavy-rain days, about 5 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Chemung County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 2.62 inches, and about 102 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
9% of occupied homes in Chemung County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the New York county median of 19%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 10 times a year in Chemung County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Chemung County covers 407 square miles of central New York, with about 82,147 residents and 39,252 homes. Besides Elmira, the county seat, the biggest communities are Southport, Horseheads and Big Flats. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1955.
56/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Chemung County ranks 14 of 57 New York counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Chemung County ranks highest compared with other New York counties.
For frozen pipes, Chemung County is a typical New York county, which is still plenty. It averaged 141 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 52 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 57 New York counties that's 35th.
The longest cold spell was straight 14 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in January 2018. The coldest night reached about -16°F on February 24, 2015. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
Most freezing nights fall from November to April, 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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 18 and the last spring freeze around May 7.
Rainfall is about average for New York. The county gets about 38.3 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 5 days of an inch or more (33rd of 57). Those downpours cluster in July, September and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.62 inches on October 21, 2016. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.85 inches (through July 26, 2018).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 102 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
82% of homes in Chemung County predate 1980, above the New York county median of 66.8%, which ranks 2nd of New York's 57 counties.
Before 1960 is when 58% of these homes went up. Galvanized supply lines and cast iron drains were standard then, and after 60-plus years both corrode and crack, often out of sight inside a wall or under a slab.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 10 times a year here, below the New York county median of 12. Mold grows when indoor humidity stays above about 60%, the EPA's ceiling. A basement dehumidifier set to 50% and drying anything wet within 24 to 48 hours prevents most problems.
Mold remediation: what to expectBy main heating fuel, Chemung County homes break down as 69% utility gas, 15% electric, 6% propane and 3% wood. Most homes here heat with gas or electricity, so cooking and electrical faults are the likelier fire sources. Even a contained kitchen fire can send soot through the ductwork to every room.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Chemung County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Every neighboring county gets more pipe-freeze nights than Chemung. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Chemung | New York median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 58% | 45% | 4 of 57 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 82% | 67% | 2 of 57 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 8.3% | 13% | 54 of 57 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 4.4% | 7.6% | 42 of 57 |
| Vacant homes | 10% | 14% | 36 of 57 |
| Wood or propane heat | 8.6% | 19% | 45 of 57 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 52/yr | 55/yr | 35 of 57 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5/yr | 6/yr | 33 of 57 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 102/yr | 101/yr | 21 of 57 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 10/yr | 12/yr | 34 of 57 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest New York county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Chemung County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in July, September and October.
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