Bradley County, Tennessee · Cleveland
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Bradley County averages 6 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 13% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 13.8 times a year here, most often in February. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Bradley County gets about 13.8 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 55 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
4% of occupied homes in Bradley County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Tennessee county median of 7.8%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 84 times a year in Bradley County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Bradley County covers 329 square miles of southern Tennessee, with about 111,065 residents and 45,949 homes. Cleveland is the county seat; South Cleveland, Wildwood Lake and Hopewell are the next largest communities. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1986.
30/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Bradley County ranks 88 of 95 Tennessee counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Bradley County ranks highest compared with other Tennessee counties.
Bradley County is milder than most of Tennessee, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. From 2015–2024 it averaged 6 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 58 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 94th of 95 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 3 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2015. The coldest night reached about 4°F on December 24, 2022. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
Most freezing nights fall from December to February, 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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 7 and the last spring freeze around Mar 26.
Rainfall is about average for Tennessee. Of roughly 58.4 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 13.8 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 55th of 95. February, March and December see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.96 inches, February 6, 2020. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.55 inches (through February 7, 2020).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 55 times a year here. They're the main driver of ice dams and of water working its way through foundation cracks in late winter.
Housing
Roughly 42% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Bradley near the middle of Tennessee's 95 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 13% of homes are pre-1960 and 28% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
About 30% 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 9% of the housing here. Water lines in the underbelly depend on intact skirting and working heat tape, and they're usually the first to freeze in a cold snap.
Renters occupy 33% of homes. If you rent, the building is usually the landlord's to repair, but your belongings are only covered by renters insurance.
Beyond water
About 84 nights a year in Bradley County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (26th of 95 counties). February is the wettest month. 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 Bradley County it's 15% utility gas, 80% electric, 3% propane and under 1% wood. Heating equipment, cooking and electrical failures cause most home fires nationally. Even a small kitchen fire can leave soot through the whole house, because smoke follows air currents into closets, ducts and attic space.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Bradley County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Every neighboring county gets more pipe-freeze nights than Bradley. Hamilton County has the oldest housing nearby, with 48% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Bradley | Tennessee median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 13% | 16% | 69 of 95 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 42% | 41% | 47 of 95 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 28% | 27% | 42 of 95 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 8.8% | 16% | 76 of 95 |
| Vacant homes | 7.3% | 12% | 82 of 95 |
| Wood or propane heat | 3.8% | 7.8% | 75 of 95 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 6/yr | 11/yr | 94 of 95 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 14/yr | 14/yr | 55 of 95 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 55/yr | 60/yr | 82 of 95 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 84/yr | 74/yr | 26 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 Bradley County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in February, March 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