Guilford County, North Carolina · Greensboro
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Guilford County averages 7 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 18% of its homes predate 1960.
September brings the most downpours to Guilford County, part of 10.9 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Guilford County gets about 10.9 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Guilford County, 4 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
4% of occupied homes in Guilford County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the North Carolina county median of 11.7%.
About 82 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
Guilford County covers 646 square miles of northern North Carolina, with about 547,940 residents and 238,032 homes. Greensboro is the county seat; High Point, Summerfield and Oak Ridge are the next largest communities. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1987.
48/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Guilford County ranks 56 of 100 North Carolina counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Guilford County ranks highest compared with other North Carolina counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Guilford County sits near the middle of the state. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 7 nights a year at or below 20°F (35th of 100) and 63 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 7 days below freezing (ending January 2018), and the low bottomed out near 4°F on February 20, 2015.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs December to February. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 7 and end around Mar 29.
Guilford gets fewer downpours than most North Carolina counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 50.2 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 10.9 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 67th of 100. April, May and September see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4 inches, September 17, 2018. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.41 inches, ending September 17, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 61 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
41% of homes in Guilford County predate 1980, close to the North Carolina county median of 41.2%, which ranks 52nd of North Carolina's 100 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 18% of homes are pre-1960 and 29% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 30% 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 40% 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
Guilford County averages 82 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in August. 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 Guilford County's occupied homes: 40% utility gas, 55% electric, 3% propane and under 1% 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 Guilford County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Forsyth and Rockingham get more pipe-freeze nights than Guilford. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Rockingham County has the oldest housing nearby, with 53% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Guilford | North Carolina median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 18% | 18% | 49 of 100 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 41% | 41% | 52 of 100 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 29% | 26% | 38 of 100 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 2.9% | 17% | 96 of 100 |
| Vacant homes | 7.7% | 13% | 92 of 100 |
| Wood or propane heat | 3.7% | 12% | 91 of 100 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 7/yr | 5/yr | 35 of 100 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 11/yr | 12/yr | 67 of 100 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 61/yr | 57/yr | 43 of 100 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 82/yr | 89/yr | 57 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 Guilford County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in April, May and September.
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