Knox County, Illinois · Galesburg
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Knox County averages 45 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 54% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in July. Knox County averages 7.7 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Knox County spike on heavy-rain days, about 7.7 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 87 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
10% of occupied homes in Knox County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Illinois county median of 16.5%.
About 39 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
Knox County covers 716 square miles of northwest Illinois, with about 49,046 residents and 23,758 homes. The county seat is Galesburg, and Abingdon, Knoxville and Oak Run round out the largest towns. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1957.
66/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Knox County ranks 4 of 102 Illinois counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Knox County ranks highest compared with other Illinois counties.
Knox County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Illinois. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 45 nights a year at or below 20°F (21st of 102) and 122 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 15 days below freezing (ending January 2018), and the low bottomed out near -23°F on January 31, 2019.
Most freezing nights fall from November to March, 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 Oct 22 and end around Apr 24.
Rainfall is about average for Illinois. Of roughly 38.4 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 7.7 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 65th of 102. June, July and September see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.69 inches, September 28, 2019. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.86 inches, ending September 30, 2019, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 87 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
Illinois's 102 counties range widely in housing age; Knox ranks 5th, with 81% of its homes built before 1980.
In Knox County 54% 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.
Renters occupy 29% of homes. If you rent, the building is usually the landlord's to repair, but your belongings are only covered by renters insurance.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 39 times a year here, below the Illinois county median of 51. 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 Knox County it's 67% utility gas, 22% electric, 9% 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 Knox County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Henry, Mercer, Stark and Warren get more pipe-freeze nights than Knox. Warren County has the oldest housing nearby, with 84% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Knox | Illinois median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 54% | 38% | 4 of 102 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 81% | 66% | 5 of 102 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 7.9% | 15% | 96 of 102 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 3.8% | 5.6% | 67 of 102 |
| Vacant homes | 12% | 11% | 40 of 102 |
| Wood or propane heat | 9.8% | 17% | 75 of 102 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 45/yr | 35/yr | 21 of 102 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7.7/yr | 8.4/yr | 65 of 102 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 87/yr | 81/yr | 25 of 102 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 39/yr | 51/yr | 76 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 Knox 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