Surry County, Virginia · Surry
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Surry County averages 6 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 25% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 11.2 times a year here, most often in July. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
25% 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 Surry County, 4.15 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
12% of occupied homes in Surry 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 96 times a year in Surry County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
With 3,451 homes and around 6,549 residents, Surry County is 279 square miles of southeast Virginia. The county seat is Surry, and Claremont, Dendron and Scotland round out the largest towns. The county's median home was built in 1983.
58/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Surry County ranks 25 of 95 Virginia counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Surry County ranks highest compared with other Virginia counties.
Surry County is milder than most of Virginia, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. 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 56 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 87th of 95 counties.
On January 7, 2018 the low fell to about 2°F, and in the stretch ending January 2017 the county went 3 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 17 and the last spring freeze around Mar 25.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Virginia. About 11.2 days a year bring an inch or more (15th of 95), most often in July, out of 52.6 inches of total precipitation. On September 18, 2020, 4.15 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.82 inches (through July 24, 2018).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 55 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
Roughly 46% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Surry near the middle of Virginia's 95 counties.
Before 1960 is when 25% of these homes went up. Galvanized supply lines and cast iron drains were standard then, and after 60-plus years both corrode and crack, often out of sight inside a wall or under a slab.
28% 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 15% 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.
18% 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
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 96 times a year here, above the Virginia county median of 64. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Surry County homes break down as 4% utility gas, 65% electric, 10% propane and 1% wood. Heating equipment, cooking and electrical failures cause most home fires nationally. Even a small kitchen fire can leave soot through the whole house, because smoke follows air currents into closets, ducts and attic space.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Surry County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Prince George, Southampton and Sussex get more pipe-freeze nights than Surry. Sussex County has the oldest housing nearby, with 50% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Surry | Virginia median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 25% | 20% | 27 of 95 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 46% | 46% | 49 of 95 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 27% | 25% | 45 of 95 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 15% | 9.6% | 34 of 95 |
| Vacant homes | 18% | 15% | 33 of 95 |
| Wood or propane heat | 12% | 12% | 53 of 95 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 6/yr | 14/yr | 87 of 95 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 11/yr | 10/yr | 15 of 95 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 55/yr | 77/yr | 88 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 Surry County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in June, July 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