Buckingham County, Virginia · Buckingham
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Buckingham County averages 13 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 18% of its homes predate 1960.
September brings the most downpours to Buckingham County, part of 11.4 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
18% 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 Buckingham County, 4.66 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
22% of occupied homes in Buckingham County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Virginia county median of 11.9%.
About 70 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
About 16,976 people live in Buckingham County, 580 square miles in central Virginia, in roughly 7,284 homes. Buckingham is the county seat; Dillwyn, Yogaville and Buckingham Courthouse are the next largest communities. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1990.
55/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Buckingham County ranks 33 of 95 Virginia counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Buckingham County ranks highest compared with other Virginia counties.
For frozen pipes, Buckingham County is a typical Virginia county, which is still plenty. From 2015–2024 it averaged 13 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 76 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 50th of 95 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 4 days below freezing (ending January 2018), and the low bottomed out near -1°F on February 20, 2015.
The freeze season here runs December to February, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 7 and the last spring freeze around Mar 30.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Virginia. About 11.4 days a year bring an inch or more (11th of 95), most often in September, out of 46.8 inches of total precipitation. On November 12, 2020, 4.66 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.94 inches (through November 13, 2020).
About 71 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
Roughly 37% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Buckingham near the middle of Virginia's 95 counties.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 32% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
31% 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.
Here 24% of housing is manufactured homes. Check the skirting and the heat tape on the main water line every fall, because that one exposed line is what freezes.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 70 times a year here, close to the Virginia county median of 64. 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 Buckingham County it's 1% utility gas, 74% electric, 14% propane and 8% wood. Wood and propane heat are above the Virginia norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Buckingham County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Albemarle, Cumberland, Fluvanna and Nelson get more pipe-freeze nights than Buckingham. Prince Edward County has the oldest housing nearby, with 50% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Buckingham | Virginia median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 18% | 20% | 60 of 95 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 37% | 46% | 63 of 95 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 32% | 25% | 27 of 95 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 24% | 9.6% | 7 of 95 |
| Vacant homes | 14% | 15% | 50 of 95 |
| Wood or propane heat | 22% | 12% | 16 of 95 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 13/yr | 14/yr | 50 of 95 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 11/yr | 10/yr | 11 of 95 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 71/yr | 77/yr | 65 of 95 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 70/yr | 64/yr | 42 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 Buckingham County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in May, 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