Pendleton County, West Virginia · Franklin
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Pendleton County averages 36 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 31% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 6 times a year here, most often in September. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
31% 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 Pendleton County, 3.56 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
54% of occupied homes in Pendleton County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the West Virginia county median of 10.1%.
About 3 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
With 3,695 homes and around 6,043 residents, Pendleton County is 696 square miles of eastern West Virginia. The county seat is Franklin, and Brandywine is the other large town. The county's median home was built in 1977.
49/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Pendleton County ranks 31 of 55 West Virginia counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Pendleton County ranks highest compared with other West Virginia counties.
Pendleton is on the colder side of West Virginia for pipes. From 2015–2024 it averaged 36 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 122 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 4th of 55 counties.
On January 7, 2018 the low fell to about -7°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.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs November to March. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 20 and the last spring freeze around Apr 30.
Pendleton gets fewer downpours than most West Virginia counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 43.8 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 6 days of an inch or more (45th of 55). Those downpours cluster in April, June and September, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.56 inches on August 9, 2024. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.04 inches (through August 10, 2024).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 106 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 55% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Pendleton near the middle of West Virginia's 55 counties.
The mix runs from 31% built before 1960 to 15% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
30% 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 13% 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.
37% 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
Pendleton County averages 3 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in June. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Pendleton County's occupied homes: 1% utility gas, 32% electric, 20% propane and 34% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than in most West Virginia counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Pendleton County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Pocahontas and Randolph get more pipe-freeze nights than Pendleton. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Pendleton | West Virginia median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 31% | 31% | 27 of 55 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 55% | 55% | 28 of 55 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 15% | 17% | 38 of 55 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 13% | 16% | 39 of 55 |
| Vacant homes | 37% | 17% | 3 of 55 |
| Wood or propane heat | 54% | 10% | 2 of 55 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 36/yr | 25/yr | 4 of 55 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6/yr | 6.8/yr | 45 of 55 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 106/yr | 89/yr | 1 of 55 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 3/yr | 27/yr | 52 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 Pendleton County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in April, 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