Ogle County, Illinois · Oregon
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Pipes freeze in Ogle County on about 50 nights a year, mostly November to March. Older homes, 35% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 7.9 times a year here, most often in June. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Ogle County gets about 7.9 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 90 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
17% of occupied homes in Ogle County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Illinois county median of 16.5%.
About 27 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
About 51,495 people live in Ogle County, 759 square miles in northern Illinois, in roughly 22,682 homes. Oregon is the county seat; Rochelle, Byron and Davis Junction are the next largest communities. The county's median home was built in 1972.
49/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Ogle County ranks 59 of 102 Illinois counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Ogle County ranks highest compared with other Illinois counties.
Ogle is on the colder side of Illinois for pipes. From 2015–2024 it averaged 50 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 130 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 7th of 102 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 16 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -29°F on January 31, 2019. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 21 and the last spring freeze around Apr 24.
Rainfall is about average for Illinois. About 7.9 days a year bring an inch or more (61st of 102), most often in June, out of 39.4 inches of total precipitation. On July 22, 2017, 3.38 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 6.4 inches (through July 22, 2017).
About 90 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; Ogle ranks 60th, with 63% of its homes built before 1980.
The mix runs from 35% built before 1960 to 16% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
Beyond water
Ogle County averages 27 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 Ogle County it's 67% utility gas, 15% electric, 16% 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 Ogle County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Carroll, Stephenson and Winnebago get more pipe-freeze nights than Ogle. Whiteside County has the oldest housing nearby, with 78% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Ogle | Illinois median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 35% | 38% | 68 of 102 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 63% | 66% | 60 of 102 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 16% | 15% | 42 of 102 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 2.5% | 5.6% | 79 of 102 |
| Vacant homes | 8.2% | 11% | 76 of 102 |
| Wood or propane heat | 17% | 17% | 50 of 102 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 50/yr | 35/yr | 7 of 102 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7.9/yr | 8.4/yr | 61 of 102 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 90/yr | 81/yr | 7 of 102 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 27/yr | 51/yr | 97 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 Ogle 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