Taylor County, West Virginia · Grafton
Water spreading, a burst pipe, sewage, mold or smoke? Call to be connected with a restoration company that serves Grafton and Flemington. 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.
Pipes freeze in Taylor County on about 24 nights a year, mostly November to March. Older homes, 37% of the stock here, are most at risk.
October brings the most downpours to Taylor County, part of 6 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in Taylor County spike on heavy-rain days, about 6 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Taylor County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 2.75 inches, and about 86 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
22% of occupied homes in Taylor County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the West Virginia county median of 10.1%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 24 times a year in Taylor County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 16,487 people live in Taylor County, 173 square miles in central West Virginia, in roughly 7,433 homes. The county seat is Grafton, and Flemington is the other large town. The county's median home was built in 1979.
44/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Taylor County ranks 39 of 55 West Virginia counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Taylor County ranks highest compared with other West Virginia counties.
For frozen pipes, Taylor County is a typical West Virginia county, which is still plenty. From 2015–2024 it averaged 24 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 102 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 31st of 55 counties.
On January 4, 2018 the low fell to about -6°F, and in the stretch ending January 2018 the county went 13 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
The freeze season here runs November 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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 29 and the last spring freeze around Apr 24.
Taylor gets fewer downpours than most West Virginia counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 47.8 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 6 days of an inch or more (45th of 55). Those downpours cluster in February, July and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.75 inches on September 30, 2016. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.53 inches (through September 11, 2018).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 86 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
West Virginia's 55 counties range widely in housing age; Taylor ranks 38th, with 51% of its homes built before 1980.
37% were built before 1960. Homes from that era often still have galvanized steel supply pipe, which rusts from the inside until it pinholes, and cast iron drains that crack with age. Slow leaks behind walls are a common start to water damage in these houses.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 29% 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.
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.
Beyond water
About 24 nights a year in Taylor County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (33rd of 55 counties). June is the wettest month. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Taylor County it's 48% utility gas, 27% electric, 15% propane and 7% wood. Wood and propane heat are above the West Virginia norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Taylor County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Barbour, Marion, Monongalia and Preston get more pipe-freeze nights than Taylor. Marion County has the oldest housing nearby, with 70% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Taylor | West Virginia median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 37% | 31% | 14 of 55 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 51% | 55% | 38 of 55 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 21% | 17% | 16 of 55 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 13% | 16% | 36 of 55 |
| Vacant homes | 11% | 17% | 45 of 55 |
| Wood or propane heat | 22% | 10% | 12 of 55 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 24/yr | 25/yr | 31 of 55 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6/yr | 6.8/yr | 45 of 55 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 86/yr | 89/yr | 39 of 55 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 24/yr | 27/yr | 33 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 Taylor County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in February, July and October.
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