Orange County, New York · Goshen
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With 35% of homes built before 1960 and about 40 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
October brings the most downpours to Orange County, part of 8.5 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Orange County gets about 8.5 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Orange 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.
9% of occupied homes in Orange County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the New York county median of 19%.
About 29 nights a year here stay at 65°F or warmer, so basements and crawl spaces can grow mold even without a leak.
Local risk profile
About 406,616 people live in Orange County, 812 square miles in southeast New York, in roughly 149,699 homes. Besides Goshen, the county seat, the biggest communities are Kiryas Joel, Middletown and Newburgh. Half the homes here were built before 1975, half after.
40/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Orange County ranks 47 of 57 New York counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Orange County ranks highest compared with other New York counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for New York, and pipes still freeze. From 2015–2024 it averaged 40 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 124 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 52nd of 57 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 15 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in January 2018. The coldest night reached about -12°F on February 24, 2015. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
The freeze season here runs November to March, 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 Oct 27 and end around Apr 26.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of New York. Of roughly 45.4 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 8.5 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 7th of 57. August, September and October see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 5.01 inches, September 2, 2021. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.23 inches, ending September 2, 2021, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 101 times a year here. They're the main driver of ice dams and of water working its way through foundation cracks in late winter.
Housing
New York's 57 counties range widely in housing age; Orange ranks 55th, with 56% of its homes built before 1980.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 21% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 23% 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.
Beyond water
About 29 nights a year in Orange County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (7th of 57 counties). July is the wettest month. 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, Orange County homes break down as 48% utility gas, 15% electric, 7% propane and 2% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Orange County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Dutchess, Sullivan and Ulster get more pipe-freeze nights than Orange. Putnam County has the oldest housing nearby, with 67% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Orange | New York median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 35% | 45% | 53 of 57 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 56% | 67% | 55 of 57 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 21% | 13% | 4 of 57 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 2% | 7.6% | 47 of 57 |
| Vacant homes | 7.4% | 14% | 48 of 57 |
| Wood or propane heat | 8.8% | 19% | 44 of 57 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 40/yr | 55/yr | 52 of 57 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.5/yr | 6/yr | 7 of 57 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 101/yr | 101/yr | 27 of 57 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 29/yr | 12/yr | 7 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 Orange County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in August, 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