Knox County, Indiana · Vincennes
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Knox County averages 25 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to February, and 48% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in July. Knox County averages 12.1 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Knox County spike on heavy-rain days, about 12.1 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 78 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
9% of occupied homes in Knox County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Indiana county median of 17%.
About 65 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
Knox County covers 516 square miles of southwest Indiana, with about 36,007 residents and 16,974 homes. The county seat is Vincennes, and Bicknell, Oaktown and Freelandville round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1962, half after.
66/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Knox County ranks 3 of 92 Indiana counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Knox County ranks highest compared with other Indiana counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Indiana, and pipes still freeze. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 25 nights a year at or below 20°F (75th of 92) and 92 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 14 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -7°F on February 20, 2015.
Most freezing nights fall from November to February, peaking in January. Disconnect garden hoses and shut off outdoor spigots before the first hard frost, and keep the heat at 55°F or higher if you'll be away.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 30 and end around Apr 11.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Indiana. Of roughly 48.1 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 12.1 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 13th of 92. March, April and July see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.71 inches, September 9, 2018. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.84 inches, ending September 9, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 78 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; Knox ranks 15th, with 70% of its homes built before 1980.
In Knox County 48% of homes are older than 1960. If yours is one of them and the plumbing has never been replaced, expect galvanized steel supply pipe and cast iron drain lines, the two materials most likely to fail quietly.
Renters occupy 32% of homes. If you rent, the building is usually the landlord's to repair, but your belongings are only covered by renters insurance.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 65 times a year here, above the Indiana county median of 38. 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 Knox County it's 55% utility gas, 34% electric, 8% propane and under 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 Knox County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Daviess, Greene and Sullivan get more pipe-freeze nights than Knox. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Knox | Indiana median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 48% | 35% | 14 of 92 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 70% | 58% | 15 of 92 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 11% | 18% | 78 of 92 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 4.5% | 6.4% | 61 of 92 |
| Vacant homes | 11% | 9.2% | 28 of 92 |
| Wood or propane heat | 9.3% | 17% | 68 of 92 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 25/yr | 33/yr | 75 of 92 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 12/yr | 7.8/yr | 13 of 92 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 78/yr | 84/yr | 73 of 92 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 65/yr | 38/yr | 6 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 Knox County: freezing from November to February, 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