Bledsoe County, Tennessee · Pikeville
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Bledsoe County averages 11 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 12% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in December. Bledsoe County averages 15.5 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Bledsoe County spike on heavy-rain days, about 15.5 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 62 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
21% of occupied homes in Bledsoe County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Tennessee county median of 7.8%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 65 times a year in Bledsoe County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Bledsoe County covers 407 square miles of southern Tennessee, with about 15,032 residents and 5,912 homes. The county seat is Pikeville. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1993.
45/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Bledsoe County ranks 65 of 95 Tennessee counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Bledsoe County ranks highest compared with other Tennessee counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Bledsoe County sits near the middle of the state. It averaged 67 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 11 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 95 Tennessee counties that's 45th.
The longest cold spell was straight 4 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in December 2022. The coldest night reached about -3°F on January 17, 2024. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
The freeze season here runs December to February, 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 Nov 2 and end around Mar 31.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Tennessee. Of roughly 62.3 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 15.5 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 18th of 95. February, September and December see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.95 inches, February 6, 2020. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.66 inches, ending September 27, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 62 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 30% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Bledsoe among the newer housing stocks of Tennessee's 95 counties.
37% of homes were built in 2000 or later, more than in most of Tennessee. Newer plumbing rarely corrodes, so damage here tends to come from appliance supply lines, water heaters, sump pumps and storms.
About 33% 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.
27% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, above the Tennessee county median of 15.9%. 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.
The Census counted 18% of homes as vacant, above the Tennessee county median of 11.9%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
About 65 nights a year in Bledsoe County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (65th of 95 counties). February 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Bledsoe County homes break down as 13% utility gas, 61% electric, 14% propane and 7% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than the state median. Have chimneys swept and fuel-burning appliances serviced each fall, and keep three feet clear around stoves and space heaters.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Bledsoe County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Cumberland and Van Buren get more pipe-freeze nights than Bledsoe. Van Buren County has the oldest housing nearby, with 55% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Bledsoe | Tennessee median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 12% | 16% | 77 of 95 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 30% | 41% | 86 of 95 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 37% | 27% | 13 of 95 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 27% | 16% | 6 of 95 |
| Vacant homes | 18% | 12% | 15 of 95 |
| Wood or propane heat | 21% | 7.8% | 8 of 95 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 11/yr | 11/yr | 45 of 95 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 16/yr | 14/yr | 18 of 95 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 62/yr | 60/yr | 45 of 95 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 65/yr | 74/yr | 65 of 95 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Tennessee county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Bledsoe County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in February, September 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