Hyde County, North Carolina · Swan Quarter
Water spreading, a burst pipe, sewage, mold or smoke? Call to be connected with a restoration company that serves Ocracoke, Swan Quarter and Engelhard. 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.
Hyde County averages 1 night a year at 20°F or colder, mostly midwinter, and 24% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 14.7 times a year here, most often in August. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Hyde County gets about 14.7 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Hyde County, 6.59 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
24% of occupied homes in Hyde County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the North Carolina county median of 11.7%.
With 122 muggy nights a year, mold in Hyde County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 4,592 people live in Hyde County, 612 square miles in eastern North Carolina, in roughly 2,952 homes. The county seat is Swan Quarter, and Ocracoke, Engelhard and Fairfield round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1981, half after.
63/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Hyde County ranks 13 of 100 North Carolina counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Hyde County ranks highest compared with other North Carolina counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for North Carolina, and pipes still freeze. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 1 night a year at or below 20°F (98th of 100) and 23 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On January 7, 2018 the low fell to about 13°F, and in the stretch ending January 2018 the county went 3 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Hard freezes are uncommon here, about 23 nights a year at or below 32°F, and that's exactly why they do damage: pipes in attics, exterior walls and slab-edge plumbing are rarely insulated. The coldest night in the record was about 13°F on January 7, 2018.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of North Carolina. The county gets about 56.8 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 14.7 days of an inch or more (15th of 100). Those downpours cluster in July, August and September, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 6.59 inches on September 3, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 7.94 inches, ending October 9, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 22 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
North Carolina's 100 counties range widely in housing age; Hyde ranks 25th, with 48% of its homes built before 1980.
Before 1960 is when 24% 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.
About 27% 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 22% 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.
With 34% of homes empty at survey time, landlords and seasonal owners should shut off the main or schedule checks in winter. An unheated vacant house is also where many policies limit freeze coverage.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 122 times a year here, above the North Carolina county median of 88.5. 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, Hyde County homes break down as 5% utility gas, 67% electric, 24% propane and under 1% wood. Propane heat is above the North Carolina norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Hyde County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Beaufort, Dare, Tyrrell and Washington get more pipe-freeze nights than Hyde. Washington County has the oldest housing nearby, with 62% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Hyde | North Carolina median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 24% | 18% | 10 of 100 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 48% | 41% | 25 of 100 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 26% | 26% | 54 of 100 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 22% | 17% | 33 of 100 |
| Vacant homes | 34% | 13% | 5 of 100 |
| Wood or propane heat | 24% | 12% | 18 of 100 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 1/yr | 5/yr | 98 of 100 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 15/yr | 12/yr | 15 of 100 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 22/yr | 57/yr | 98 of 100 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 122/yr | 89/yr | 4 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 Hyde County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in July, August 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