Henry County, Illinois · Cambridge
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With 49% of homes built before 1960 and about 47 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Basements flood here mostly in July. Henry County averages 8 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Henry County spike on heavy-rain days, about 8 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Henry County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 2.85 inches, and about 86 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
11% of occupied homes in Henry County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Illinois county median of 16.5%.
With 37 muggy nights a year, mold in Henry County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 48,643 people live in Henry County, 823 square miles in northwest Illinois, in roughly 22,210 homes. The county seat is Cambridge, and Kewanee, Geneseo and Colona round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1961, half after.
65/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Henry County ranks 7 of 102 Illinois counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Henry County ranks highest compared with other Illinois counties.
Henry County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Illinois. It averaged 122 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 47 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 14th.
On January 31, 2019 the low fell to about -28°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 16 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.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 23 and end around Apr 22.
Rainfall is about average for Illinois. The county gets about 39.4 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 8 days of an inch or more (58th of 102). Those downpours cluster in June, July and September, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.85 inches on July 22, 2017. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.08 inches, ending May 1, 2019, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 86 days a year. Each cycle melts and refreezes water at roof edges and in foundation cracks, which is how ice dams and basement seepage get started.
Housing
Illinois's 102 counties range widely in housing age; Henry ranks 6th, with 79% of its homes built before 1980.
Before 1960 is when 49% of these homes went up. Galvanized supply lines and cast iron drains were standard then, and after 60-plus years both corrode and crack, often out of sight inside a wall or under a slab.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 37 times a year here, below 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 expectMain heating fuel in Henry County's occupied homes: 73% utility gas, 14% electric, 11% propane and under 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 Henry County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Bureau, Mercer and Whiteside get more pipe-freeze nights than Henry. Stark County has the oldest housing nearby, with 81% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Henry | Illinois median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 49% | 38% | 17 of 102 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 79% | 66% | 6 of 102 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 8.2% | 15% | 93 of 102 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 1.7% | 5.6% | 90 of 102 |
| Vacant homes | 8.7% | 11% | 72 of 102 |
| Wood or propane heat | 11% | 17% | 72 of 102 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 47/yr | 35/yr | 14 of 102 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8/yr | 8.4/yr | 58 of 102 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 86/yr | 81/yr | 27 of 102 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 37/yr | 51/yr | 80 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 Henry County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in June, July 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