Whiteside County, Illinois · Morrison
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Pipes freeze in Whiteside County on about 48 nights a year, mostly November to March. Older homes, 48% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 8.6 times a year here, most often in July. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Sewage backups in Whiteside County spike on heavy-rain days, about 8.6 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 88 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
12% of occupied homes in Whiteside County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Illinois county median of 16.5%.
About 35 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 54,947 people live in Whiteside County, 684 square miles in northern Illinois, in roughly 25,837 homes. The county seat is Morrison, and Sterling, Rock Falls and Fulton round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1961, half after.
66/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Whiteside County ranks 5 of 102 Illinois counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Whiteside County ranks highest compared with other Illinois counties.
Whiteside County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Illinois. It averaged 124 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 48 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 9th.
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.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 23 and end around Apr 22.
Rainfall is about average for Illinois. Of roughly 39.6 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 8.6 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 50th of 102. June, July and September see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.07 inches, July 22, 2017. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.68 inches, ending July 22, 2017, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 88 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 78% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Whiteside among the oldest housing stocks of Illinois's 102 counties.
Before 1960 is when 48% of these homes went up. Galvanized supply lines and cast iron drains were standard then, and after 60-plus years both corrode and crack, often out of sight inside a wall or under a slab.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 35 times a year here, below the Illinois county median of 51. 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 Whiteside County's occupied homes: 73% utility gas, 14% electric, 11% 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 Whiteside County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Carroll and Ogle get more pipe-freeze nights than Whiteside. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Henry County has the oldest housing nearby, with 79% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Whiteside | Illinois median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 48% | 38% | 21 of 102 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 78% | 66% | 10 of 102 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 9.5% | 15% | 87 of 102 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 2.3% | 5.6% | 82 of 102 |
| Vacant homes | 11% | 11% | 53 of 102 |
| Wood or propane heat | 12% | 17% | 70 of 102 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 48/yr | 35/yr | 9 of 102 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.6/yr | 8.4/yr | 50 of 102 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 88/yr | 81/yr | 19 of 102 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 35/yr | 51/yr | 88 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 Whiteside 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