Crawford County, Indiana · English
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With 19% of homes built before 1960 and about 27 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
July brings the most downpours to Crawford County, part of 13.6 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
19% 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.
Crawford County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.66 inches, and about 86 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
34% of occupied homes in Crawford County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Indiana county median of 17%.
With 42 muggy nights a year, mold in Crawford County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 10,499 people live in Crawford County, 306 square miles in southern Indiana, in roughly 5,914 homes. The county seat is English, and Marengo, Milltown and Leavenworth round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1984, half after.
44/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Crawford County ranks 66 of 92 Indiana counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Crawford County ranks highest compared with other Indiana counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Indiana, and pipes still freeze. From 2015–2024 it averaged 27 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 98 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 69th of 92 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 13 days below freezing (ending January 2018), and the low bottomed out near -12°F on February 20, 2015.
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 26 and end around Apr 21.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Indiana. The county gets about 53.6 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 13.6 days of an inch or more (2nd of 92). Those downpours cluster in February, March and July, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.66 inches on April 3, 2015. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.54 inches, ending April 4, 2015, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 86 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
43% of homes in Crawford County predate 1980, below the Indiana county median of 58.2%, which ranks 83rd of Indiana's 92 counties.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 23% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 34% 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.
29% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, above the Indiana county median of 6.4%. Their water lines run under the floor behind the skirting, so a torn skirt or failed heat tape freezes them faster than lines in a site-built house.
The Census counted 23% of homes as vacant, above the Indiana county median of 9.2%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
About 42 nights a year in Crawford County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (34th of 92 counties). July is the wettest month. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30 to 50%. Basements can pass 60% on their own in summer, so a dehumidifier matters even without a leak, and anything wet should be dried within 24 to 48 hours.
Mold remediation: what to expectMain heating fuel in Crawford County's occupied homes: 15% utility gas, 50% electric, 21% propane and 13% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than the state median. Have chimneys swept and fuel-burning appliances serviced each fall, and keep three feet clear around stoves and space heaters.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Crawford County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Orange gets more pipe-freeze nights than Crawford. Perry County has the oldest housing nearby, with 55% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Crawford | Indiana median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 19% | 35% | 85 of 92 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 43% | 58% | 83 of 92 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 23% | 18% | 21 of 92 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 29% | 6.4% | 1 of 92 |
| Vacant homes | 23% | 9.2% | 2 of 92 |
| Wood or propane heat | 34% | 17% | 7 of 92 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 27/yr | 33/yr | 69 of 92 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 14/yr | 7.8/yr | 2 of 92 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 86/yr | 84/yr | 24 of 92 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 42/yr | 38/yr | 34 of 92 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Indiana county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Crawford County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in February, March and July.
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