Cumberland County, Tennessee · Crossville
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Pipes freeze in Cumberland County on about 16 nights a year, mostly December to February. Older homes, 7% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 16.1 times a year here, most often in December. 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 16.1 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 70 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, close to the Tennessee county median of 7.8%.
With 40 muggy nights a year, mold in Cumberland County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 63,553 people live in Cumberland County, 681 square miles in central Tennessee, in roughly 31,455 homes. Crossville is the county seat; Fairfield Glade, Lake Tansi and Crab Orchard are the next largest communities. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1994.
53/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Cumberland County ranks 41 of 95 Tennessee counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Cumberland County ranks highest compared with other Tennessee counties.
Cumberland is on the colder side of Tennessee for pipes. It averaged 77 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 16 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 6th.
On January 17, 2024 the low fell to about -6°F, and in the stretch ending February 2015 the county went 5 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 December to February. 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 Oct 29 and the last spring freeze around Apr 14.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Tennessee. The county gets about 62.3 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 16.1 days of an inch or more (10th of 95). Those downpours cluster in February, March and December, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.84 inches on February 6, 2020. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.69 inches (through February 7, 2020).
About 70 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
Tennessee's 95 counties range widely in housing age; Cumberland ranks 88th, with 28% of its homes built before 1980.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 37% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
About 35% 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 13% 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.
Beyond water
Cumberland County averages 40 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in February. 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 43% utility gas, 48% electric, 5% 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
Cumberland gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Van Buren County has the oldest housing nearby, with 55% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Cumberland | Tennessee median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 7.3% | 16% | 90 of 95 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 28% | 41% | 88 of 95 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 37% | 27% | 14 of 95 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 13% | 16% | 56 of 95 |
| Vacant homes | 10% | 12% | 57 of 95 |
| Wood or propane heat | 7.7% | 7.8% | 52 of 95 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 16/yr | 11/yr | 6 of 95 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 16/yr | 14/yr | 10 of 95 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 70/yr | 60/yr | 11 of 95 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 40/yr | 74/yr | 89 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 Cumberland 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