Vinton County, Ohio · McArthur
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Vinton County averages 26 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 24% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in February. Vinton County averages 6.8 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Vinton County spike on heavy-rain days, about 6.8 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 84 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
31% of occupied homes in Vinton County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Ohio county median of 15.9%.
With 31 muggy nights a year, mold in Vinton County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
Vinton County covers 412 square miles of southern Ohio, with about 12,630 residents and 5,935 homes. The county seat is McArthur, and Hamden, Zaleski and Wilkesville round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1982, half after.
30/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Vinton County ranks 87 of 88 Ohio counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Vinton County ranks highest compared with other Ohio counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Ohio, and pipes still freeze. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 26 nights a year at or below 20°F (75th of 88) and 101 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On February 21, 2015 the low fell to about -13°F, and in the stretch ending January 2018 the county went 13 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
The freeze season here runs November to March, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 25 and end around Apr 20.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Ohio. About 6.8 days a year bring an inch or more (20th of 88), most often in February, out of 44.2 inches of total precipitation. On September 9, 2018, 2.79 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.24 inches, ending September 10, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 84 days a year swing from below freezing at night to above freezing by day. Those freeze-thaw cycles feed ice dams on roofs, open cracks in foundations and driveways, and stress pipes that are already marginal.
Housing
Roughly 46% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Vinton among the newer housing stocks of Ohio's 88 counties.
26% of homes were built in 2000 or later, more than in most of Ohio. Newer plumbing rarely corrodes, so damage here tends to come from appliance supply lines, water heaters, sump pumps and storms.
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.
28% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, above the Ohio county median of 5.9%. Their water lines run under the floor behind the skirting, so a torn skirt or failed heat tape freezes them faster than lines in a site-built house.
Beyond water
Vinton County averages 31 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in June. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Vinton County it's 20% utility gas, 44% electric, 23% propane and 8% wood. Wood and propane heat are 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 Vinton County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Hocking gets more pipe-freeze nights than Vinton. Ross County has the oldest housing nearby, with 57% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Vinton | Ohio median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 24% | 37% | 82 of 88 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 46% | 61% | 81 of 88 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 26% | 17% | 8 of 88 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 28% | 5.9% | 1 of 88 |
| Vacant homes | 10% | 8.4% | 28 of 88 |
| Wood or propane heat | 31% | 16% | 3 of 88 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 26/yr | 31/yr | 75 of 88 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6.8/yr | 5.7/yr | 20 of 88 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 84/yr | 82/yr | 31 of 88 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 31/yr | 35/yr | 59 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 Vinton County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in February, 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