Woodford County, Illinois · Eureka
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With 36% of homes built before 1960 and about 41 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
June brings the most downpours to Woodford County, part of 7.5 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
36% 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.
Woodford County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.76 inches, and about 85 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
14% of occupied homes in Woodford County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Illinois county median of 16.5%.
With 43 muggy nights a year, mold in Woodford County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
Woodford County covers 528 square miles of northern Illinois, with about 38,312 residents and 15,758 homes. Eureka is the county seat; Metamora, Germantown Hills and El Paso are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1972, half after.
46/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Woodford County ranks 74 of 102 Illinois counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Woodford County ranks highest compared with other Illinois counties.
Woodford County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Illinois. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 41 nights a year at or below 20°F (29th of 102) and 113 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On January 30, 2019 the low fell to about -21°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.
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 24 and end around Apr 22.
Woodford 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 7.5 days of an inch or more (70th of 102). Those downpours cluster in June, July and August, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.76 inches on September 28, 2019. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.68 inches, ending September 30, 2019, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 85 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
62% of homes in Woodford County predate 1980, close to the Illinois county median of 65.9%, which ranks 66th of Illinois's 102 counties.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 21% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 43 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Woodford County homes break down as 66% utility gas, 19% electric, 14% 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 Woodford County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
LaSalle, Livingston and Marshall get more pipe-freeze nights than Woodford. Marshall County has the oldest housing nearby, with 77% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Woodford | Illinois median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 36% | 38% | 63 of 102 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 62% | 66% | 66 of 102 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 21% | 15% | 19 of 102 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 3.7% | 5.6% | 68 of 102 |
| Vacant homes | 6.8% | 11% | 87 of 102 |
| Wood or propane heat | 14% | 17% | 64 of 102 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 41/yr | 35/yr | 29 of 102 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7.5/yr | 8.4/yr | 70 of 102 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 85/yr | 81/yr | 31 of 102 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 43/yr | 51/yr | 67 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 Woodford 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