Giles County, Tennessee · Pulaski
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Giles County averages 10 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 19% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in February. Giles County averages 13.3 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Giles County spike on heavy-rain days, about 13.3 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 63 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
14% of occupied homes in Giles County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Tennessee county median of 7.8%.
With 70 muggy nights a year, mold in Giles County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
Giles County covers 611 square miles of southern Tennessee, with about 30,620 residents and 14,221 homes. The county seat is Pulaski, and Ardmore, Minor Hill and Elkton round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1982, half after.
47/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Giles County ranks 61 of 95 Tennessee counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Giles County ranks highest compared with other Tennessee counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Giles 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 67 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
The longest cold spell was straight 6 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -4°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 Oct 29 and end around Mar 30.
Rainfall is about average for Tennessee. The county gets about 58.9 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 13.3 days of an inch or more (63rd of 95). Those downpours cluster in February, March and December, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.18 inches on August 31, 2021. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6 inches, ending February 23, 2019, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 63 days a year. Each cycle melts and refreezes water at roof edges and in foundation cracks, which is how ice dams and basement seepage get started.
Housing
48% of homes in Giles County predate 1980, above the Tennessee county median of 41.2%, which ranks 25th of Tennessee's 95 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 19% predate 1960 and 23% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
29% date from 1980 to 1999, the window when polybutylene, a gray flexible plastic supply pipe, was used in some homes. It's prone to leaks at the fittings, so it's worth checking for in a house from those years.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 16% 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.
With 15% of homes empty at survey time, landlords and seasonal owners should shut off the main or schedule checks in winter. An unheated vacant house is also where many policies limit freeze coverage.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 70 times a year here, close to the Tennessee county median of 74. 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 Giles County it's 19% utility gas, 66% electric, 10% propane and 4% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than in most Tennessee counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Giles County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Marshall and Maury get more pipe-freeze nights than Giles. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Giles | Tennessee median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 19% | 16% | 25 of 95 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 48% | 41% | 25 of 95 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 23% | 27% | 69 of 95 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 16% | 16% | 48 of 95 |
| Vacant homes | 15% | 12% | 28 of 95 |
| Wood or propane heat | 14% | 7.8% | 23 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 | 63/yr | 60/yr | 36 of 95 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 70/yr | 74/yr | 53 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 Giles 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