Hardy County, West Virginia · Moorefield
Water spreading, a burst pipe, sewage, mold or smoke? Call to be connected with a restoration company that serves Moorefield and Wardensville. Start the steps below while you wait.
Answered 24/7 by a participating local provider. We're a referral service and don't do the work ourselves. How it works
Start here
Pick the closest match. These steps limit the damage and protect your insurance claim. Skip anything that isn't safe.
Hardy County averages 32 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 19% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 5.4 times a year here, most often in September. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Sewage backups in Hardy County spike on heavy-rain days, about 5.4 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 103 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
34% of occupied homes in Hardy County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the West Virginia county median of 10.1%.
About 13 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 14,243 people live in Hardy County, 582 square miles in eastern West Virginia, in roughly 8,284 homes. Besides Moorefield, the county seat, the biggest community is Wardensville. Half the homes here were built before 1984, half after.
33/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Hardy County ranks 50 of 55 West Virginia counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Hardy County ranks highest compared with other West Virginia counties.
Hardy County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of West Virginia. It averaged 114 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 32 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 55 West Virginia counties that's 9th.
On January 7, 2018 the low fell to about -5°F, and in the stretch ending January 2018 the county went 14 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.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 22 and end around Apr 24.
Hardy gets fewer downpours than most West Virginia counties, but they still fill basements. About 5.4 days a year bring an inch or more (54th of 55), most often in September, out of 39.3 inches of total precipitation. On August 9, 2024, 3.46 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.15 inches, ending August 10, 2024, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 103 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 43% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Hardy among the newer housing stocks of West Virginia's 55 counties.
24% of homes were built in 2000 or later, more than in most of West Virginia. Newer plumbing rarely corrodes, so damage here tends to come from appliance supply lines, water heaters, sump pumps and storms.
About 33% 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.
Here 19% 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.
28% 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
About 13 nights a year in Hardy County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (44th of 55 counties). May 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Hardy County it's 6% utility gas, 50% electric, 13% propane and 21% wood. Wood and propane heat are 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 Hardy County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Grant and Pendleton get more pipe-freeze nights than Hardy. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Pendleton County has the oldest housing nearby, with 55% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Hardy | West Virginia median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 19% | 31% | 47 of 55 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 43% | 55% | 46 of 55 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 24% | 17% | 8 of 55 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 19% | 16% | 23 of 55 |
| Vacant homes | 28% | 17% | 8 of 55 |
| Wood or propane heat | 34% | 10% | 5 of 55 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 32/yr | 25/yr | 9 of 55 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.4/yr | 6.8/yr | 54 of 55 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 103/yr | 89/yr | 2 of 55 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 13/yr | 27/yr | 44 of 55 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest West Virginia county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Hardy County: freezing from November 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