Dyer County, Tennessee · Dyersburg
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Dyer County averages 10 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 27% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 13.3 times a year here, most often in March. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Dyer County gets about 13.3 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Dyer County, 3.78 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
3% of occupied homes in Dyer 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 100 times a year in Dyer County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Dyer County covers 512 square miles of western Tennessee, with about 36,508 residents and 16,311 homes. Dyersburg is the county seat; Newbern, Fowlkes and Trimble are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1978, half after.
61/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Dyer County ranks 15 of 95 Tennessee counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Dyer County ranks highest compared with other Tennessee counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Dyer County sits near the middle of the state. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 10 nights a year at or below 20°F (56th of 95) and 56 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 9 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -2°F on December 23, 2022.
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.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 7 and end around Mar 30.
Rainfall is about average for Tennessee. About 13.3 days a year bring an inch or more (63rd of 95), most often in March, out of 52.8 inches of total precipitation. On March 10, 2016, 3.78 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.8 inches, ending March 11, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 50 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; Dyer ranks 12th, with 54% of its homes built before 1980.
In Dyer County 27% of homes are older than 1960. If yours is one of them and the plumbing has never been replaced, expect galvanized steel supply pipe and cast iron drain lines, the two materials most likely to fail quietly.
About 28% 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.
Here 8% of housing is manufactured homes. Check the skirting and the heat tape on the main water line every fall, because that one exposed line is what freezes.
Renters occupy 38% 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 100 nights a year in Dyer County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (5th of 95 counties). March is the wettest month. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30 to 50%. Basements can pass 60% on their own in summer, so a dehumidifier matters even without a leak, and anything wet should be dried within 24 to 48 hours.
Mold remediation: what to expectBy main heating fuel, Dyer County homes break down as 43% utility gas, 53% electric, 3% propane and under 1% 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 Dyer County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Gibson and Obion get more pipe-freeze nights than Dyer. Lake County has the oldest housing nearby, with 59% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Dyer | Tennessee median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 27% | 16% | 5 of 95 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 54% | 41% | 12 of 95 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 18% | 27% | 92 of 95 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 7.6% | 16% | 81 of 95 |
| Vacant homes | 9.5% | 12% | 63 of 95 |
| Wood or propane heat | 3.2% | 7.8% | 83 of 95 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 10/yr | 11/yr | 56 of 95 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 13/yr | 14/yr | 63 of 95 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 50/yr | 60/yr | 90 of 95 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 100/yr | 74/yr | 5 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 Dyer County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in February, March and April.
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