Sumner County, Tennessee · Gallatin
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With 7% of homes built before 1960 and about 12 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Basements flood here mostly in February. Sumner County averages 13.3 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
7% 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.
Sumner County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 4.23 inches, and about 60 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
4% of occupied homes in Sumner County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Tennessee county median of 7.8%.
With 77 muggy nights a year, mold in Sumner County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 204,424 people live in Sumner County, 529 square miles in northern Tennessee, in roughly 83,236 homes. The county seat is Gallatin, and Hendersonville, Goodlettsville and Portland round out the largest towns. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1995.
37/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Sumner County ranks 81 of 95 Tennessee counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Sumner County ranks highest compared with other Tennessee counties.
Sumner County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Tennessee. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 12 nights a year at or below 20°F (31st of 95) and 67 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 8 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -3°F on January 17, 2024.
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 4 and end around Mar 31.
Rainfall is about average for Tennessee. About 13.3 days a year bring an inch or more (63rd of 95), most often in February, out of 55.8 inches of total precipitation. On May 9, 2024, 4.23 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.8 inches, ending July 7, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 60 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; Sumner ranks 82nd, with 31% of its homes built before 1980.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 43% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
About 26% 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.
Beyond water
Sumner County averages 77 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 expectMain heating fuel in Sumner County's occupied homes: 39% utility gas, 57% electric, 3% propane and under 1% wood. Most homes here heat with gas or electricity, so cooking and electrical faults are the likelier fire sources. Even a contained kitchen fire can send soot through the ductwork to every room.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Sumner County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Macon and Robertson get more pipe-freeze nights than Sumner. Davidson County has the oldest housing nearby, with 41% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Sumner | Tennessee median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 7.2% | 16% | 91 of 95 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 31% | 41% | 82 of 95 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 43% | 27% | 6 of 95 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 5.1% | 16% | 88 of 95 |
| Vacant homes | 5.6% | 12% | 92 of 95 |
| Wood or propane heat | 3.5% | 7.8% | 79 of 95 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 12/yr | 11/yr | 31 of 95 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 13/yr | 14/yr | 63 of 95 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 60/yr | 60/yr | 48 of 95 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 77/yr | 74/yr | 38 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 Sumner County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in February, March and June.
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