Cumberland County, Pennsylvania · Carlisle
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Pipes freeze in Cumberland County on about 26 nights a year, mostly November to March. Older homes, 30% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 7.3 times a year here, most often in September. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Cumberland County gets about 7.3 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 87 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
8% of occupied homes in Cumberland County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Pennsylvania county median of 10%.
With 45 muggy nights a year, mold in Cumberland County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 268,323 people live in Cumberland County, 545 square miles in southern Pennsylvania, in roughly 111,278 homes. Carlisle is the county seat; Mechanicsburg, Camp Hill and Lower Allen are the next largest communities. The county's median home was built in 1978.
34/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Cumberland County ranks 63 of 67 Pennsylvania counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Cumberland County ranks highest compared with other Pennsylvania counties.
Cumberland County is milder than most of Pennsylvania, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. It averaged 102 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 26 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 67 Pennsylvania counties that's 59th.
On February 24, 2015 the low fell to about -4°F, and in the stretch ending January 2018 the county went 14 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 3 and the last spring freeze around Apr 15.
Rainfall is about average for Pennsylvania. The county gets about 43.4 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 7.3 days of an inch or more (28th of 67). Those downpours cluster in September, November and December, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 4.09 inches on September 2, 2021. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.95 inches (through July 24, 2018).
About 87 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
Pennsylvania's 67 counties range widely in housing age; Cumberland ranks 58th, with 53% of its homes built before 1980.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 24% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
About 23% 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.
Beyond water
Cumberland County averages 45 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in September. 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 Cumberland County it's 38% utility gas, 37% electric, 6% propane and 2% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Cumberland County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Dauphin, Franklin and Perry get more pipe-freeze nights than Cumberland. Dauphin County has the oldest housing nearby, with 62% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Cumberland | Pennsylvania median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 30% | 42% | 61 of 67 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 53% | 66% | 58 of 67 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 24% | 13% | 4 of 67 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 4.6% | 6.6% | 46 of 67 |
| Vacant homes | 4.4% | 12% | 61 of 67 |
| Wood or propane heat | 8.1% | 10% | 42 of 67 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 26/yr | 37/yr | 59 of 67 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7.3/yr | 7/yr | 28 of 67 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 87/yr | 98/yr | 61 of 67 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 45/yr | 16/yr | 9 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 Cumberland County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in September, November and December.
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