Potter County, Pennsylvania · Coudersport
Water spreading, a burst pipe, sewage, mold or smoke? Call to be connected with a restoration company that serves Coudersport, Shinglehouse and Galeton. Start the steps below while you wait.
Answered 24/7 by a participating local provider. We're a referral service and don't do the work ourselves. How it works
Start here
Pick the closest match. These steps limit the damage and protect your insurance claim. Skip anything that isn't safe.
With 41% of homes built before 1960 and about 58 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 6.1 times a year here, most often in July. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Potter County gets about 6.1 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Potter County, 3.22 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
21% of occupied homes in Potter County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Pennsylvania county median of 10%.
About 3 nights a year here stay at 65°F or warmer, so basements and crawl spaces can grow mold even without a leak.
Local risk profile
Potter County covers 1,081 square miles of northern Pennsylvania, with about 16,188 residents and 12,397 homes. The county seat is Coudersport, and Shinglehouse, Galeton and Roulette round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1969, half after.
50/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Potter County ranks 33 of 67 Pennsylvania counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Potter County ranks highest compared with other Pennsylvania counties.
Potter County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Pennsylvania. From 2015–2024 it averaged 58 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 153 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 1st of 67 counties.
On February 16, 2015 the low fell to about -20°F, and in the stretch ending March 2015 the county went 19 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Most freezing nights fall from November to April, 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.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 14 and end around May 11.
Potter gets fewer downpours than most Pennsylvania counties, but they still fill basements. About 6.1 days a year bring an inch or more (48th of 67), most often in July, out of 44.4 inches of total precipitation. On September 30, 2015, 3.22 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.1 inches, ending August 19, 2021, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 110 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
67% of homes in Potter County predate 1980, close to the Pennsylvania county median of 66%, which ranks 32nd of Pennsylvania's 67 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 41% of homes are pre-1960 and 12% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
13% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, above the Pennsylvania county median of 6.6%. 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.
The Census counted 44% of homes as vacant, above the Pennsylvania county median of 11.6%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
About 3 nights a year in Potter County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (66th of 67 counties). July 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 Potter County it's 65% utility gas, 8% electric, 8% propane and 12% wood. Wood 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 Potter County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Potter gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. McKean County has the oldest housing nearby, with 78% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Potter | Pennsylvania median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 41% | 42% | 38 of 67 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 67% | 66% | 32 of 67 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 12% | 13% | 42 of 67 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 13% | 6.6% | 7 of 67 |
| Vacant homes | 44% | 12% | 3 of 67 |
| Wood or propane heat | 21% | 10% | 13 of 67 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 58/yr | 37/yr | 1 of 67 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6.1/yr | 7/yr | 48 of 67 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 110/yr | 98/yr | 2 of 67 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 3/yr | 16/yr | 66 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 Potter County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in July, September and October.
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