Adams County, Pennsylvania · Gettysburg
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Pipes freeze in Adams County on about 26 nights a year, mostly November to March. Older homes, 29% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in July. Adams County averages 8.2 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
29% of homes here predate 1960, when clay and cast iron sewer laterals were standard. Roots and cracks in those lines are a common cause of backups.
Adams County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 4.4 inches, and about 91 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
19% of occupied homes in Adams County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Pennsylvania county median of 10%.
With 41 muggy nights a year, mold in Adams County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 43,672 homes and around 106,115 residents, Adams County is 519 square miles of southern Pennsylvania. Gettysburg is the county seat; Littlestown, Carroll Valley and McSherrystown are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1980, half after.
34/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Adams County ranks 61 of 67 Pennsylvania counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Adams County ranks highest compared with other Pennsylvania counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Pennsylvania, and pipes still freeze. From 2015–2024 it averaged 26 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 105 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 59th of 67 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 13 days below freezing (ending January 2018), and the low bottomed out near -4°F on February 24, 2015.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs November to March. 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 Oct 29 and end around Apr 15.
Rainfall is about average for Pennsylvania. About 8.2 days a year bring an inch or more (24th of 67), most often in July, out of 44.1 inches of total precipitation. On September 2, 2021, 4.4 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.09 inches, ending July 24, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 91 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
50% of homes in Adams County predate 1980, below the Pennsylvania county median of 66%, which ranks 64th of Pennsylvania's 67 counties.
22% of homes were built in 2000 or later, more than in most of Pennsylvania. Newer plumbing rarely corrodes, so damage here tends to come from appliance supply lines, water heaters, sump pumps and storms.
28% date from 1980 to 1999, the window when polybutylene, a gray flexible plastic supply pipe, was used in some homes. It's prone to leaks at the fittings, so it's worth checking for in a house from those years.
Beyond water
About 41 nights a year in Adams County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (11th of 67 counties). September is the wettest month. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Adams County it's 32% utility gas, 32% electric, 14% propane and 5% wood. Propane heat is above the Pennsylvania 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 Adams County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Franklin gets more pipe-freeze nights than Adams. York County has the oldest housing nearby, with 55% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Adams | Pennsylvania median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 29% | 42% | 62 of 67 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 50% | 66% | 64 of 67 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 22% | 13% | 7 of 67 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 5.5% | 6.6% | 40 of 67 |
| Vacant homes | 6.5% | 12% | 53 of 67 |
| Wood or propane heat | 19% | 10% | 14 of 67 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 26/yr | 37/yr | 59 of 67 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.2/yr | 7/yr | 24 of 67 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 91/yr | 98/yr | 50 of 67 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 41/yr | 16/yr | 11 of 67 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Pennsylvania county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Adams County: freezing from November to March, 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