Menard County, Illinois · Petersburg
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Pipes freeze in Menard County on about 36 nights a year, mostly November to March. Older homes, 32% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in June. Menard County averages 7.6 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Menard County gets about 7.6 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 82 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
16% of occupied homes in Menard County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Illinois county median of 16.5%.
With 50 muggy nights a year, mold in Menard County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 5,600 homes and around 12,095 residents, Menard County is 314 square miles of central Illinois. The county seat is Petersburg, and Athens, Lake Petersburg and Greenview round out the largest towns. The county's median home was built in 1976.
38/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Menard County ranks 89 of 102 Illinois counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Menard County ranks highest compared with other Illinois counties.
For frozen pipes, Menard County is a typical Illinois county, which is still plenty. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 36 nights a year at or below 20°F (46th of 102) and 108 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On January 31, 2019 the low fell to about -15°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 23 and the last spring freeze around Apr 17.
Rainfall is about average for Illinois. The county gets about 38.9 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 7.6 days of an inch or more (67th of 102). Those downpours cluster in June, July and August, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.02 inches on April 30, 2017. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.31 inches (through December 29, 2015).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 82 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; Menard ranks 82nd, with 56% of its homes built before 1980.
Housing age is mixed: 32% of homes are pre-1960 and 16% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
About 29% of homes went up between 1980 and 1999. Some houses from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s were plumbed with polybutylene, a gray plastic pipe known for failing at fittings. A plumber can tell you in a few minutes whether you have it.
Beyond water
Menard County averages 50 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in May. 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 Menard County it's 65% utility gas, 19% electric, 15% propane and under 1% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Menard County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Cass and Mason get more pipe-freeze nights than Menard. Mason County has the oldest housing nearby, with 82% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Menard | Illinois median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 32% | 38% | 81 of 102 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 56% | 66% | 82 of 102 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 16% | 15% | 39 of 102 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 2.8% | 5.6% | 76 of 102 |
| Vacant homes | 6.6% | 11% | 90 of 102 |
| Wood or propane heat | 16% | 17% | 58 of 102 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 36/yr | 35/yr | 46 of 102 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7.6/yr | 8.4/yr | 67 of 102 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 82/yr | 81/yr | 40 of 102 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 50/yr | 51/yr | 54 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 Menard County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in June, July and August.
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