Fulton County, Illinois · Lewistown
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Fulton County averages 40 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 50% of its homes predate 1960.
June brings the most downpours to Fulton County, part of 8.4 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Fulton County gets about 8.4 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Fulton County, 2.74 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
16% of occupied homes in Fulton County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Illinois county median of 16.5%.
About 48 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 15,848 homes and around 33,020 residents, Fulton County is 866 square miles of western Illinois. Besides Lewistown, the county seat, the biggest communities are Canton, Farmington and Cuba. Half the homes here were built before 1960, half after.
65/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Fulton County ranks 6 of 102 Illinois counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Fulton County ranks highest compared with other Illinois counties.
Fulton County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Illinois. It averaged 110 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 40 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 102 Illinois counties that's 32nd.
On January 31, 2019 the low fell to about -18°F, and in the stretch ending January 2018 the county went 15 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.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 23 and end around Apr 18.
Rainfall is about average for Illinois. The county gets about 37.9 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 8.4 days of an inch or more (51st of 102). Those downpours cluster in April, June and July, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.74 inches on September 28, 2019. The worst three-day stretch dropped 3.92 inches, ending September 8, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 82 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
79% of homes in Fulton County predate 1980, above the Illinois county median of 65.9%, which ranks 8th of Illinois's 102 counties.
In Fulton County 50% of homes are older than 1960. If yours is one of them and the plumbing has never been replaced, expect galvanized steel supply pipe and cast iron drain lines, the two materials most likely to fail quietly.
The Census counted 13% of homes as vacant, above the Illinois county median of 10.8%. 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 48 times a year here, close to the Illinois county median of 51. 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, Fulton County homes break down as 62% utility gas, 20% electric, 15% 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 Fulton County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Knox, McDonough and Warren get more pipe-freeze nights than Fulton. Warren County has the oldest housing nearby, with 84% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Fulton | Illinois median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 50% | 38% | 13 of 102 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 79% | 66% | 8 of 102 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 9.8% | 15% | 85 of 102 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 2.9% | 5.6% | 74 of 102 |
| Vacant homes | 13% | 11% | 26 of 102 |
| Wood or propane heat | 16% | 17% | 52 of 102 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 40/yr | 35/yr | 32 of 102 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.4/yr | 8.4/yr | 51 of 102 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 82/yr | 81/yr | 40 of 102 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 48/yr | 51/yr | 59 of 102 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Illinois county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Fulton County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in April, June 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