Forsyth County, North Carolina · Winston-Salem
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With 20% of homes built before 1960 and about 8 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Forsyth County averages 9.9 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Forsyth County spike on heavy-rain days, about 9.9 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Forsyth County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.79 inches, and about 62 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
3% of occupied homes in Forsyth County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the North Carolina county median of 11.7%.
With 78 muggy nights a year, mold in Forsyth County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 389,977 people live in Forsyth County, 408 square miles in northern North Carolina, in roughly 175,631 homes. Winston-Salem is the county seat; Kernersville, Clemmons and Lewisville are the next largest communities. The county's median home was built in 1984.
48/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Forsyth County ranks 55 of 100 North Carolina counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Forsyth County ranks highest compared with other North Carolina counties.
Forsyth is on the colder side of North Carolina for pipes. From 2015–2024 it averaged 8 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 65 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 28th of 100 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 8 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in January 2018. The coldest night reached about 3°F on February 20, 2015. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
The freeze season here runs December to February, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 7 and the last spring freeze around Mar 30.
Forsyth gets fewer downpours than most North Carolina counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 48.5 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 9.9 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 90th of 100. May, August and October see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.79 inches, August 9, 2024. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.66 inches (through April 25, 2017).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 62 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
44% of homes in Forsyth County predate 1980, close to the North Carolina county median of 41.2%, which ranks 41st of North Carolina's 100 counties.
The mix runs from 20% built before 1960 to 28% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 29% 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.
Renters occupy 36% 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
About 78 nights a year in Forsyth County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (64th of 100 counties). August is the wettest month. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30 to 50%. Basements can pass 60% on their own in summer, so a dehumidifier matters even without a leak, and anything wet should be dried within 24 to 48 hours.
Mold remediation: what to expectBy main heating fuel, Forsyth County homes break down as 29% utility gas, 63% electric, 2% propane and under 1% 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 Forsyth County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Stokes, Surry and Yadkin get more pipe-freeze nights than Forsyth. Surry County has the oldest housing nearby, with 51% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Forsyth | North Carolina median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 20% | 18% | 36 of 100 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 44% | 41% | 41 of 100 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 28% | 26% | 43 of 100 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 3.3% | 17% | 95 of 100 |
| Vacant homes | 8.9% | 13% | 85 of 100 |
| Wood or propane heat | 2.7% | 12% | 97 of 100 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 8/yr | 5/yr | 28 of 100 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 9.9/yr | 12/yr | 90 of 100 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 62/yr | 57/yr | 40 of 100 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 78/yr | 89/yr | 64 of 100 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest North Carolina county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Forsyth County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in May, August 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