Sullivan County, Tennessee · Blountville
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Sullivan County averages 14 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to February, and 28% of its homes predate 1960.
February brings the most downpours to Sullivan County, part of 7.3 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Sullivan County gets about 7.3 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Sullivan County, 2.79 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 Sullivan County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Tennessee county median of 7.8%.
About 40 nights a year here stay at 65°F or warmer, so basements and crawl spaces can grow mold even without a leak.
Local risk profile
With 76,324 homes and around 160,624 residents, Sullivan County is 414 square miles of northeast Tennessee. Besides Blountville, the county seat, the biggest communities are Kingsport, Bristol and Bloomingdale. Half the homes here were built before 1977, half after.
56/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Sullivan County ranks 36 of 95 Tennessee counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Sullivan County ranks highest compared with other Tennessee counties.
Sullivan County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Tennessee. It averaged 80 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 14 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 12th.
The longest cold spell was straight 5 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2015. The coldest night reached about -6°F on February 20, 2015. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
Most freezing nights fall from November 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.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 1 and end around Apr 12.
Sullivan gets fewer downpours than most Tennessee counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 48.2 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 7.3 days of an inch or more (94th of 95). Those downpours cluster in February, March and July, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.79 inches on September 26, 2024. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.75 inches, ending September 28, 2024, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 75 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
55% of homes in Sullivan County predate 1980, above the Tennessee county median of 41.2%, which ranks 8th of Tennessee's 95 counties.
In Sullivan County 28% 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.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 27% of the county's homes. If yours is from those decades, look under the sinks and at the water heater for gray plastic pipe stamped PB, which is polybutylene and leak-prone.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 10% 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
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 40 times a year here, below the Tennessee county median of 74. Mold grows when indoor humidity stays above about 60%, the EPA's ceiling. A basement dehumidifier set to 50% and drying anything wet within 24 to 48 hours prevents most problems.
Mold remediation: what to expectBy main heating fuel, Sullivan County homes break down as 10% utility gas, 86% electric, 2% propane and 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 Sullivan County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Carter and Johnson get more pipe-freeze nights than Sullivan. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Sullivan | Tennessee median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 28% | 16% | 3 of 95 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 55% | 41% | 8 of 95 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 18% | 27% | 90 of 95 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 10% | 16% | 70 of 95 |
| Vacant homes | 9.7% | 12% | 62 of 95 |
| Wood or propane heat | 2.9% | 7.8% | 84 of 95 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 14/yr | 11/yr | 12 of 95 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7.3/yr | 14/yr | 94 of 95 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 75/yr | 60/yr | 5 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 Sullivan County: freezing from November to February, heavy rain in February, March and July.
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