Henry County, Indiana · New Castle
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With 49% of homes built before 1960 and about 33 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Basements flood here mostly in March. Henry County averages 7.1 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Henry County spike on heavy-rain days, about 7.1 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Henry County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 2.24 inches, and about 80 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
16% of occupied homes in Henry County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Indiana county median of 17%.
With 31 muggy nights a year, mold in Henry County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 48,970 people live in Henry County, 392 square miles in eastern Indiana, in roughly 20,996 homes. The county seat is New Castle, and Knightstown, Middletown and Spiceland round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1961, half after.
56/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Henry County ranks 24 of 92 Indiana counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Henry County ranks highest compared with other Indiana counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Henry County sits near the middle of the state. It averaged 106 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 33 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 92 Indiana counties that's 44th.
On January 2, 2018 the low fell to about -13°F, and in the stretch ending March 2015 the county went 19 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.
Rainfall is about average for Indiana. The county gets about 43.8 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 7.1 days of an inch or more (51st of 92). Those downpours cluster in March, April and July, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.24 inches on September 8, 2018. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.59 inches, ending September 9, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 80 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
Indiana's 92 counties range widely in housing age; Henry ranks 5th, with 76% of its homes built before 1980.
Before 1960 is when 49% 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.
With 11% 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
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 31 times a year here, below the Indiana county median of 38. 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 Henry County's occupied homes: 52% utility gas, 29% electric, 13% propane and 3% 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 Henry County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Randolph gets more pipe-freeze nights than Henry. Wayne County has the oldest housing nearby, with 79% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Henry | Indiana median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 49% | 35% | 11 of 92 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 76% | 58% | 5 of 92 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 8.8% | 18% | 89 of 92 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 4% | 6.4% | 68 of 92 |
| Vacant homes | 11% | 9.2% | 24 of 92 |
| Wood or propane heat | 16% | 17% | 52 of 92 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 33/yr | 33/yr | 44 of 92 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7.1/yr | 7.8/yr | 51 of 92 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 80/yr | 84/yr | 67 of 92 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 31/yr | 38/yr | 76 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 Henry County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in March, April 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