Loudoun County, Virginia · Leesburg
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With 4% of homes built before 1960 and about 16 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Basements flood here mostly in September. Loudoun County averages 7.2 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
4% 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.
Loudoun County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.85 inches, and about 76 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
8% of occupied homes in Loudoun County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Virginia county median of 11.9%.
With 58 muggy nights a year, mold in Loudoun County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 147,003 homes and around 432,998 residents, Loudoun County is 516 square miles of northeast Virginia. Besides Leesburg, the county seat, the biggest communities are Ashburn, South Riding and Sterling. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 2002.
26/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Loudoun County ranks 94 of 95 Virginia counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Loudoun County ranks highest compared with other Virginia counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Loudoun County sits near the middle of the state. It averaged 84 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 16 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 35th.
On February 24, 2015 the low fell to about 1°F, and in the stretch ending January 2018 the county went 12 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
The freeze season here runs December to March, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 3 and end around Apr 4.
Loudoun gets fewer downpours than most Virginia counties, but they still fill basements. About 7.2 days a year bring an inch or more (92nd of 95), most often in September, out of 41.1 inches of total precipitation. On July 29, 2017, 3.85 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.15 inches, ending August 10, 2024, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 76 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
13% of homes in Loudoun County predate 1980, below the Virginia county median of 46.2%, which ranks 95th of Virginia's 95 counties.
Growth since 2000 added 57% of today's homes. In houses that new, the weak points are washing machine hoses, ice maker lines, water heaters and sump pumps rather than the pipes in the walls.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 31% 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.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 58 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Loudoun County homes break down as 59% utility gas, 31% electric, 8% propane and under 1% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Loudoun County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Clarke and Fauquier get more pipe-freeze nights than Loudoun. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Clarke County has the oldest housing nearby, with 50% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Loudoun | Virginia median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 3.8% | 20% | 95 of 95 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 13% | 46% | 95 of 95 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 57% | 25% | 1 of 95 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 0.5% | 9.6% | 91 of 95 |
| Vacant homes | 2.7% | 15% | 95 of 95 |
| Wood or propane heat | 8% | 12% | 70 of 95 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 16/yr | 14/yr | 35 of 95 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7.2/yr | 10/yr | 92 of 95 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 76/yr | 77/yr | 49 of 95 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 58/yr | 64/yr | 53 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 Loudoun County: freezing from December to March, heavy rain in January, June and September.
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