Pasquotank County, North Carolina · Elizabeth City
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Pasquotank County averages 4 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly January, and 24% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in July. Pasquotank County averages 11.9 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Pasquotank County gets about 11.9 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 41 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
12% of occupied homes in Pasquotank County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the North Carolina county median of 11.7%.
With 104 muggy nights a year, mold in Pasquotank County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 17,721 homes and around 40,834 residents, Pasquotank County is 227 square miles of northeast North Carolina. Elizabeth City is the county seat. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1988.
63/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Pasquotank County ranks 15 of 100 North Carolina counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Pasquotank County ranks highest compared with other North Carolina counties.
For frozen pipes, Pasquotank County is a typical North Carolina county, which is still plenty. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 4 nights a year at or below 20°F (58th of 100) and 42 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
The longest cold spell was straight 4 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in January 2018. The coldest night reached about 8°F on January 7, 2018. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
Most freezing nights fall from January, 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 Nov 24 and the last spring freeze around Mar 17.
Rainfall is about average for North Carolina. Of roughly 52.7 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 11.9 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 44th of 100. July, August and September see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 6.9 inches, October 9, 2016. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 9.99 inches (through October 10, 2016).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 41 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 39% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Pasquotank near the middle of North Carolina's 100 counties.
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.
Here 12% of housing is manufactured homes. Check the skirting and the heat tape on the main water line every fall, because that one exposed line is what freezes.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 104 times a year here, above the North Carolina county median of 88.5. 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, Pasquotank County homes break down as 7% utility gas, 77% electric, 11% 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 Pasquotank County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Gates gets more pipe-freeze nights than Pasquotank. Tyrrell County has the oldest housing nearby, with 51% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Pasquotank | North Carolina median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 24% | 18% | 12 of 100 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 39% | 41% | 57 of 100 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 34% | 26% | 26 of 100 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 12% | 17% | 75 of 100 |
| Vacant homes | 11% | 13% | 69 of 100 |
| Wood or propane heat | 12% | 12% | 52 of 100 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 4/yr | 5/yr | 58 of 100 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 12/yr | 12/yr | 44 of 100 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 41/yr | 57/yr | 77 of 100 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 104/yr | 89/yr | 21 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 Pasquotank County: freezing from January, 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