Pope County, Illinois · Golconda
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With 27% of homes built before 1960 and about 18 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 13.7 times a year here, most often in March. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Pope County gets about 13.7 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Pope County, 3.5 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
38% of occupied homes in Pope County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Illinois county median of 16.5%.
About 79 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
Pope County covers 369 square miles of southeast Illinois, with about 3,739 residents and 2,225 homes. The county seat is Golconda, and Eddyville is the other large town. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1986.
44/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Pope County ranks 78 of 102 Illinois counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Pope County ranks highest compared with other Illinois counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Illinois, and pipes still freeze. It averaged 74 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 18 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 98th.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 11 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -6°F on February 19, 2015.
The freeze season here runs December to February, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 2 and end around Mar 29.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Illinois. The county gets about 52.2 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 13.7 days of an inch or more (2nd of 102). Those downpours cluster in February, March and November, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.5 inches on October 29, 2020. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.75 inches, ending September 29, 2024, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 62 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; Pope ranks 97th, with 42% of its homes built before 1980.
Growth since 2000 added 26% 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 32% 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 17% of the housing here. Water lines in the underbelly depend on intact skirting and working heat tape, and they're usually the first to freeze in a cold snap.
With 38% of homes empty at survey time, landlords and seasonal owners should shut off the main or schedule checks in winter. An unheated vacant house is also where many policies limit freeze coverage.
Beyond water
About 79 nights a year in Pope County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (5th of 102 counties). July is the wettest month. 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 Pope County's occupied homes: 21% utility gas, 42% electric, 34% propane and 4% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than in most Illinois counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Pope County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Johnson and Saline get more pipe-freeze nights than Pope. Saline County has the oldest housing nearby, with 66% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Pope | Illinois median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 27% | 38% | 87 of 102 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 42% | 66% | 97 of 102 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 26% | 15% | 10 of 102 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 17% | 5.6% | 9 of 102 |
| Vacant homes | 38% | 11% | 2 of 102 |
| Wood or propane heat | 38% | 17% | 4 of 102 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 18/yr | 35/yr | 98 of 102 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 14/yr | 8.4/yr | 2 of 102 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 62/yr | 81/yr | 99 of 102 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 79/yr | 51/yr | 5 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 Pope County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in February, March and November.
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