Accomack County, Virginia · Accomac
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Accomack County averages 6 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 28% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in October. Accomack County averages 8.8 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Accomack County spike on heavy-rain days, about 8.8 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 51 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
23% of occupied homes in Accomack County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Virginia county median of 11.9%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 96 times a year in Accomack County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Accomack County covers 449 square miles of eastern Virginia, with about 33,335 residents and 22,052 homes. The county seat is Accomac, and Chincoteague, Captains Cove and Wattsville round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1982, half after.
48/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Accomack County ranks 55 of 95 Virginia counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Accomack County ranks highest compared with other Virginia counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Virginia, and pipes still freeze. From 2015–2024 it averaged 6 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 54 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 87th of 95 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 4 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in January 2018. The coldest night reached about 2°F on February 21, 2015. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
Most freezing nights fall from December 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 19 and end around Mar 25.
Accomack gets fewer downpours than most Virginia counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 46.6 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 8.8 days of an inch or more (66th of 95). Those downpours cluster in March, September and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 4.31 inches on September 30, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.46 inches, ending October 10, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 51 times a year here. They're the main driver of ice dams and of water working its way through foundation cracks in late winter.
Housing
47% of homes in Accomack County predate 1980, close to the Virginia county median of 46.2%, which ranks 43rd of Virginia's 95 counties.
In Accomack 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.
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 19% 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 35% 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
About 96 nights a year in Accomack County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (7th of 95 counties). July is the wettest month. 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, Accomack County homes break down as 1% utility gas, 63% electric, 22% propane and 1% wood. Propane heat is more common here than in most Virginia 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 Accomack County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Lancaster, Middlesex and Northumberland get more pipe-freeze nights than Accomack. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Northampton County has the oldest housing nearby, with 49% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Accomack | Virginia median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 28% | 20% | 17 of 95 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 47% | 46% | 43 of 95 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 24% | 25% | 56 of 95 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 19% | 9.6% | 21 of 95 |
| Vacant homes | 35% | 15% | 5 of 95 |
| Wood or propane heat | 23% | 12% | 13 of 95 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 6/yr | 14/yr | 87 of 95 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.8/yr | 10/yr | 66 of 95 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 51/yr | 77/yr | 92 of 95 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 96/yr | 64/yr | 7 of 95 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Virginia county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Accomack County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in March, September and October.
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