Alleghany County, Virginia · Covington
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Alleghany County averages 23 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 39% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 8.6 times a year here, most often in September. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Alleghany County gets about 8.6 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 88 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
13% of occupied homes in Alleghany County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Virginia county median of 11.9%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 24 times a year in Alleghany County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 14,859 people live in Alleghany County, 447 square miles in central Virginia, in roughly 7,913 homes. The county seat is Covington, and Clifton Forge, Mallow and Low Moor round out the largest towns. The county's median home was built in 1969.
65/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Alleghany County ranks 5 of 95 Virginia counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Alleghany County ranks highest compared with other Virginia counties.
Alleghany is on the colder side of Virginia for pipes. It averaged 98 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 23 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 95 Virginia counties that's 11th.
On December 24, 2022 the low fell to about -3°F, and in the stretch ending January 2018 the county went 9 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Most freezing nights fall from November to March, 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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 31 and the last spring freeze around Apr 17.
Alleghany gets fewer downpours than most Virginia counties, but they still fill basements. About 8.6 days a year bring an inch or more (71st of 95), most often in September, out of 45.4 inches of total precipitation. On June 24, 2016, 3.81 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.41 inches (through June 24, 2016).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 88 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
Roughly 64% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Alleghany among the oldest housing stocks of Virginia's 95 counties.
In Alleghany County 39% 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.
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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 13% 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.
19% of homes were vacant at survey time. A leak in an empty rental or seasonal house can run for days before anyone notices, which is why those losses tend to be larger.
Beyond water
Alleghany County averages 24 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in June. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Alleghany County it's 12% utility gas, 66% electric, 5% propane and 8% wood. Wood heat is more common here than the state median. Have chimneys swept and fuel-burning appliances serviced each fall, and keep three feet clear around stoves and space heaters.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Alleghany County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Bath gets more pipe-freeze nights than Alleghany. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Alleghany | Virginia median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 39% | 20% | 3 of 95 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 64% | 46% | 1 of 95 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 10% | 25% | 94 of 95 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 13% | 9.6% | 41 of 95 |
| Vacant homes | 19% | 15% | 29 of 95 |
| Wood or propane heat | 13% | 12% | 47 of 95 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 23/yr | 14/yr | 11 of 95 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.6/yr | 10/yr | 71 of 95 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 88/yr | 77/yr | 17 of 95 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 24/yr | 64/yr | 75 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 Alleghany County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in April, 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