Daviess County, Indiana · Washington
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Pipes freeze in Daviess County on about 27 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 12.1 times a year here, most often in July. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Daviess County gets about 12.1 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 83 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
19% of occupied homes in Daviess County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Indiana county median of 17%.
With 55 muggy nights a year, mold in Daviess County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
Daviess County covers 430 square miles of southwest Indiana, with about 33,658 residents and 12,887 homes. Besides Washington, the county seat, the biggest communities are Odon, Montgomery and Elnora. The county's median home was built in 1975.
56/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Daviess County ranks 23 of 92 Indiana counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Daviess County ranks highest compared with other Indiana counties.
Daviess County is milder than most of Indiana, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 27 nights a year at or below 20°F (69th of 92) and 97 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On February 20, 2015 the low fell to about -8°F, and in the stretch ending January 2018 the county went 13 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
The freeze season here runs November to March, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 26 and the last spring freeze around Apr 12.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Indiana. About 12.1 days a year bring an inch or more (13th of 92), most often in July, out of 48.6 inches of total precipitation. On July 31, 2020, 3.01 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.31 inches (through August 16, 2016).
About 83 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
Indiana's 92 counties range widely in housing age; Daviess ranks 49th, with 57% of its homes built before 1980.
Growth since 2000 added 23% 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 8% 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.
Beyond water
Daviess County averages 55 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in July. 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 Daviess County it's 48% utility gas, 27% electric, 15% propane and 4% 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 Daviess County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Greene and Martin get more pipe-freeze nights than Daviess. Knox County has the oldest housing nearby, with 70% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Daviess | Indiana median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 35% | 35% | 46 of 92 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 57% | 58% | 49 of 92 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 23% | 18% | 20 of 92 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 8.4% | 6.4% | 29 of 92 |
| Vacant homes | 8.3% | 9.2% | 54 of 92 |
| Wood or propane heat | 19% | 17% | 41 of 92 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 27/yr | 33/yr | 69 of 92 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 12/yr | 7.8/yr | 13 of 92 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 83/yr | 84/yr | 47 of 92 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 55/yr | 38/yr | 15 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 Daviess County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in March, June 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