Hamblen County, Tennessee · Morristown
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Hamblen County averages 11 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 16% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 9 times a year here, most often in February. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
16% of homes here predate 1960, when clay and cast iron sewer laterals were standard. Roots and cracks in those lines are a common cause of backups.
In Hamblen County, 3.89 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 Hamblen 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 66 times a year in Hamblen County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Hamblen County covers 161 square miles of northeast Tennessee, with about 65,669 residents and 28,095 homes. Besides Morristown, the county seat, the biggest community is Russellville. The county's median home was built in 1980.
35/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Hamblen County ranks 84 of 95 Tennessee counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Hamblen County ranks highest compared with other Tennessee counties.
For frozen pipes, Hamblen County is a typical Tennessee county, which is still plenty. It averaged 70 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 6 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2015. The coldest night reached about -3°F on February 20, 2015. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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 Nov 4 and the last spring freeze around Apr 2.
Hamblen gets fewer downpours than most Tennessee counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 48.6 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 9 days of an inch or more (88th of 95). Those downpours cluster in February, March and May, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.89 inches on August 18, 2021. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.75 inches (through September 27, 2024).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 65 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
Tennessee's 95 counties range widely in housing age; Hamblen ranks 18th, with 51% of its homes built before 1980.
Housing age is mixed: 16% of homes are pre-1960 and 20% 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.
10% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, below 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.
Beyond water
Hamblen County averages 66 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Hamblen County homes break down as 14% utility gas, 82% electric, 2% 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 Hamblen County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Grainger gets more pipe-freeze nights than Hamblen. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Hamblen | Tennessee median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 16% | 16% | 51 of 95 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 51% | 41% | 18 of 95 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 20% | 27% | 78 of 95 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 10% | 16% | 72 of 95 |
| Vacant homes | 6.9% | 12% | 85 of 95 |
| Wood or propane heat | 2.5% | 7.8% | 88 of 95 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 11/yr | 11/yr | 45 of 95 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 9/yr | 14/yr | 88 of 95 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 65/yr | 60/yr | 24 of 95 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 66/yr | 74/yr | 62 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 Hamblen County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in February, March and May.
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