Miami County, Indiana · Peru
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Miami County averages 35 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 49% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 5.9 times a year here, most often in June. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
49% 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.
In Miami County, 2.46 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
12% of occupied homes in Miami County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Indiana county median of 17%.
With 33 muggy nights a year, mold in Miami County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
Miami County covers 374 square miles of northern Indiana, with about 35,712 residents and 14,952 homes. Besides Peru, the county seat, the biggest communities are Grissom AFB, Bunker Hill and Mexico. The county's median home was built in 1961.
54/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Miami County ranks 32 of 92 Indiana counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Miami County ranks highest compared with other Indiana counties.
Miami is on the colder side of Indiana for pipes. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 35 nights a year at or below 20°F (30th of 92) and 114 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On January 31, 2019 the low fell to about -16°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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 24 and the last spring freeze around Apr 24.
Miami gets fewer downpours than most Indiana counties, but they still fill basements. About 5.9 days a year bring an inch or more (79th of 92), most often in June, out of 38.9 inches of total precipitation. On July 10, 2024, 2.46 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 3.25 inches (through June 18, 2015).
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; Miami ranks 12th, with 72% 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 10% 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
Miami County averages 33 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in June. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Miami County homes break down as 61% utility gas, 25% electric, 10% propane and 3% 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 Miami County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Cass, Fulton and Wabash get more pipe-freeze nights than Miami. Cass County has the oldest housing nearby, with 78% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Miami | Indiana median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 49% | 35% | 10 of 92 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 72% | 58% | 12 of 92 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 10% | 18% | 80 of 92 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 10% | 6.4% | 23 of 92 |
| Vacant homes | 11% | 9.2% | 25 of 92 |
| Wood or propane heat | 12% | 17% | 61 of 92 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 35/yr | 33/yr | 30 of 92 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.9/yr | 7.8/yr | 79 of 92 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 83/yr | 84/yr | 47 of 92 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 33/yr | 38/yr | 63 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 Miami County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in April, May and June.
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