Franklin County, New York · Malone
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Franklin County averages 88 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to April, and 46% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 4.9 times a year here, most often in October. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Franklin County gets about 4.9 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 103 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
28% of occupied homes in Franklin County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the New York county median of 19%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 3 times a year in Franklin County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
With 25,494 homes and around 46,696 residents, Franklin County is 1,629 square miles of northeast New York. Besides Malone, the county seat, the biggest communities are Saranac Lake, Akwesasne and Tupper Lake. The county's median home was built in 1967.
56/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Franklin County ranks 16 of 57 New York counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Franklin County ranks highest compared with other New York counties.
Franklin is on the colder side of New York for pipes. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 88 nights a year at or below 20°F (2nd of 57) and 170 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On February 4, 2023 the low fell to about -26°F, and in the stretch ending March 2015 the county went 33 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
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 8 and the last spring freeze around May 12.
Rainfall is about average for New York. About 4.9 days a year bring an inch or more (36th of 57), most often in October, out of 43.3 inches of total precipitation. On July 11, 2024, 2.73 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 3.98 inches (through October 23, 2016).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 103 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 63% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Franklin among the newer housing stocks of New York's 57 counties.
The mix runs from 46% built before 1960 to 15% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
About 22% of homes went up between 1980 and 1999. Some houses from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s were plumbed with polybutylene, a gray plastic pipe known for failing at fittings. A plumber can tell you in a few minutes whether you have it.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 12% 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.
24% of homes were vacant at survey time. A leak in an empty rental or seasonal house can run for days before anyone notices, which is why those losses tend to be larger.
Beyond water
About 3 nights a year in Franklin County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (52nd of 57 counties). June is the wettest month. 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 Franklin County's occupied homes: 4% utility gas, 15% electric, 17% propane and 11% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than in most New York 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 Franklin County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Hamilton gets more pipe-freeze nights than Franklin. St. Lawrence County has the oldest housing nearby, with 67% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Franklin | New York median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 46% | 45% | 26 of 57 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 63% | 67% | 42 of 57 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 15% | 13% | 18 of 57 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 12% | 7.6% | 11 of 57 |
| Vacant homes | 24% | 14% | 11 of 57 |
| Wood or propane heat | 28% | 19% | 12 of 57 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 88/yr | 55/yr | 2 of 57 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 4.9/yr | 6/yr | 36 of 57 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 103/yr | 101/yr | 19 of 57 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 3/yr | 12/yr | 52 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 Franklin County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in June, July 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