Mingo County, West Virginia · Williamson
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Mingo County averages 18 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 20% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 7.9 times a year here, most often in July. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Mingo County gets about 7.9 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Mingo County, 3.26 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
5% of occupied homes in Mingo County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the West Virginia county median of 10.1%.
With 47 muggy nights a year, mold in Mingo County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 11,554 homes and around 22,542 residents, Mingo County is 423 square miles of southwest West Virginia. Besides Williamson, the county seat, the biggest communities are Gilbert Creek, Matewan and Red Jacket. Half the homes here were built before 1982, half after.
41/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Mingo County ranks 42 of 55 West Virginia counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Mingo County ranks highest compared with other West Virginia counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for West Virginia, and pipes still freeze. From 2015–2024 it averaged 18 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 83 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 52nd of 55 counties.
On February 20, 2015 the low fell to about -14°F, and in the stretch ending January 2016 the county went 6 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.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 4 and end around Apr 16.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of West Virginia. The county gets about 50.7 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 7.9 days of an inch or more (8th of 55). Those downpours cluster in February, May and July, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.26 inches on February 17, 2023. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.37 inches, ending July 29, 2022, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 75 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
46% of homes in Mingo County predate 1980, below the West Virginia county median of 55.1%, which ranks 42nd of West Virginia's 55 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 20% predate 1960 and 17% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 38% 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.
32% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, above the West Virginia county median of 16.2%. Their water lines run under the floor behind the skirting, so a torn skirt or failed heat tape freezes them faster than lines in a site-built house.
The Census counted 19% of homes as vacant, above the West Virginia county median of 17.4%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 47 times a year here, above the West Virginia county median of 27. 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, Mingo County homes break down as 19% utility gas, 75% electric, 2% propane and 3% 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 Mingo County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
McDowell and Wyoming get more pipe-freeze nights than Mingo. McDowell County has the oldest housing nearby, with 76% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Mingo | West Virginia median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 20% | 31% | 46 of 55 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 46% | 55% | 42 of 55 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 17% | 17% | 32 of 55 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 32% | 16% | 2 of 55 |
| Vacant homes | 19% | 17% | 23 of 55 |
| Wood or propane heat | 4.8% | 10% | 46 of 55 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 18/yr | 25/yr | 52 of 55 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7.9/yr | 6.8/yr | 8 of 55 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 75/yr | 89/yr | 54 of 55 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 47/yr | 27/yr | 4 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 Mingo County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in February, May and July.
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