Lake County, Illinois · Waukegan
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With 21% of homes built before 1960 and about 44 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 6.9 times a year here, most often in July. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
21% 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 Lake County, 3.06 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
1% of occupied homes in Lake County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Illinois county median of 16.5%.
With 30 muggy nights a year, mold in Lake County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 714,223 people live in Lake County, 444 square miles in northeast Illinois, in roughly 270,618 homes. The county seat is Waukegan, and Buffalo Grove, Mundelein and North Chicago round out the largest towns. The county's median home was built in 1983.
31/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Lake County ranks 96 of 102 Illinois counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Lake County ranks highest compared with other Illinois counties.
Lake is on the colder side of Illinois for pipes. From 2015–2024 it averaged 44 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 120 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 23rd of 102 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 18 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in March 2015. The coldest night reached about -24°F on January 31, 2019. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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 28 and the last spring freeze around Apr 26.
Lake gets fewer downpours than most Illinois counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 38.6 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 6.9 days of an inch or more (85th of 102). Those downpours cluster in July, September and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.06 inches on September 12, 2022. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.63 inches (through September 13, 2019).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 84 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 46% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Lake among the newer housing stocks of Illinois's 102 counties.
Growth since 2000 added 21% of today's homes. In houses that new, the weak points are washing machine hoses, ice maker lines, water heaters and sump pumps rather than the pipes in the walls.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 33% 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.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 30 times a year here, below the Illinois county median of 51. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30 to 50%. Basements can pass 60% on their own in summer, so a dehumidifier matters even without a leak, and anything wet should be dried within 24 to 48 hours.
Mold remediation: what to expectMain heating fuel in Lake County's occupied homes: 83% utility gas, 15% electric, 1% propane and under 1% wood. Most homes here heat with gas or electricity, so cooking and electrical faults are the likelier fire sources. Even a contained kitchen fire can send soot through the ductwork to every room.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Lake County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
McHenry gets more pipe-freeze nights than Lake. Cook County has the oldest housing nearby, with 73% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Lake | Illinois median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 21% | 38% | 95 of 102 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 46% | 66% | 93 of 102 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 21% | 15% | 20 of 102 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 1.6% | 5.6% | 92 of 102 |
| Vacant homes | 4.5% | 11% | 95 of 102 |
| Wood or propane heat | 1.4% | 17% | 101 of 102 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 44/yr | 35/yr | 23 of 102 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6.9/yr | 8.4/yr | 85 of 102 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 84/yr | 81/yr | 34 of 102 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 30/yr | 51/yr | 91 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 Lake County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in July, September 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