Columbiana County, Ohio · Lisbon
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Pipes freeze in Columbiana County on about 34 nights a year, mostly November to March. Older homes, 46% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in June. Columbiana County averages 5.7 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Columbiana County gets about 5.7 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 90 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
11% of occupied homes in Columbiana County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Ohio county median of 15.9%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 18 times a year in Columbiana County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 100,704 people live in Columbiana County, 532 square miles in eastern Ohio, in roughly 46,121 homes. Lisbon is the county seat; Salem, East Liverpool and Columbiana are the next largest communities. The county's median home was built in 1964.
59/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Columbiana County ranks 22 of 88 Ohio counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Columbiana County ranks highest compared with other Ohio counties.
Columbiana is on the colder side of Ohio for pipes. From 2015–2024 it averaged 34 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 117 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 21st of 88 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 15 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -12°F on February 20, 2015. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
Most freezing nights fall from November to March, 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 Oct 28 and the last spring freeze around Apr 30.
Rainfall is about average for Ohio. About 5.7 days a year bring an inch or more (44th of 88), most often in June, out of 44.1 inches of total precipitation. On September 10, 2018, 2.93 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.27 inches (through September 10, 2018).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 90 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
Ohio's 88 counties range widely in housing age; Columbiana ranks 16th, with 71% of its homes built before 1980.
Before 1960 is when 46% 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 9% 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.
Beyond water
Columbiana County averages 18 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in June. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Columbiana County it's 52% utility gas, 28% electric, 7% propane and 4% wood. Wood heat is more common here than in most Ohio counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Columbiana County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Mahoning gets more pipe-freeze nights than Columbiana. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Jefferson County has the oldest housing nearby, with 80% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Columbiana | Ohio median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 46% | 37% | 17 of 88 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 71% | 61% | 16 of 88 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 11% | 17% | 69 of 88 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 8.7% | 5.9% | 28 of 88 |
| Vacant homes | 10% | 8.4% | 29 of 88 |
| Wood or propane heat | 11% | 16% | 57 of 88 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 34/yr | 31/yr | 21 of 88 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.7/yr | 5.7/yr | 44 of 88 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 90/yr | 82/yr | 5 of 88 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 18/yr | 35/yr | 87 of 88 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Ohio county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Columbiana County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in April, June 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