Allamakee County, Iowa · Waukon
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Pipes freeze in Allamakee County on about 67 nights a year, mostly November to March. Older homes, 39% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 9.3 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 Allamakee County gets about 9.3 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 90 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
43% of occupied homes in Allamakee County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Iowa county median of 22.1%.
With 22 muggy nights a year, mold in Allamakee County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
Allamakee County covers 639 square miles of northeast Iowa, with about 14,092 residents and 7,761 homes. Besides Waukon, the county seat, the biggest communities are Postville, Lansing and New Albin. The county's median home was built in 1972.
53/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Allamakee County ranks 37 of 99 Iowa counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Allamakee County ranks highest compared with other Iowa counties.
For frozen pipes, Allamakee County is a typical Iowa county, which is still plenty. It averaged 147 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 67 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 99 Iowa counties that's 34th.
The longest cold spell was straight 19 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in January 2018. The coldest night reached about -32°F on January 31, 2019. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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 16 and the last spring freeze around May 3.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Iowa. About 9.3 days a year bring an inch or more (1st of 99), most often in July, out of 40 inches of total precipitation. On September 22, 2016, 3.61 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.73 inches (through September 5, 2018).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 90 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
Roughly 58% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Allamakee among the newer housing stocks of Iowa's 99 counties.
Growth since 2000 added 20% 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.
22% date from 1980 to 1999, the window when polybutylene, a gray flexible plastic supply pipe, was used in some homes. It's prone to leaks at the fittings, so it's worth checking for in a house from those years.
Here 14% of housing is manufactured homes. Check the skirting and the heat tape on the main water line every fall, because that one exposed line is what freezes.
The Census counted 23% of homes as vacant, above the Iowa county median of 9.5%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 22 times a year here, below the Iowa county median of 29. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Allamakee County homes break down as 37% utility gas, 17% electric, 36% propane and 7% 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 Allamakee County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Winneshiek gets more pipe-freeze nights than Allamakee. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Clayton County has the oldest housing nearby, with 68% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Allamakee | Iowa median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 39% | 48% | 83 of 99 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 58% | 73% | 90 of 99 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 20% | 13% | 16 of 99 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 14% | 3.2% | 1 of 99 |
| Vacant homes | 23% | 9.5% | 3 of 99 |
| Wood or propane heat | 43% | 22% | 4 of 99 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 67/yr | 62/yr | 34 of 99 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 9.3/yr | 7.1/yr | 1 of 99 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 90/yr | 94/yr | 84 of 99 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 22/yr | 29/yr | 71 of 99 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Iowa county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Allamakee County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in June, July and September.
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