Chickasaw County, Iowa · New Hampton
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Pipes freeze in Chickasaw County on about 72 nights a year, mostly November to April. Older homes, 45% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in September. Chickasaw County averages 8.6 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
45% 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.
Chickasaw County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 4.63 inches, and about 97 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
34% of occupied homes in Chickasaw County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Iowa county median of 22.1%.
With 16 muggy nights a year, mold in Chickasaw County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
Chickasaw County covers 504 square miles of northeast Iowa, with about 11,807 residents and 5,542 homes. The county seat is New Hampton, and Nashua, Fredericksburg and Lawler round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1966, half after.
60/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Chickasaw County ranks 23 of 99 Iowa counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Chickasaw County ranks highest compared with other Iowa counties.
Chickasaw County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Iowa. It averaged 155 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 72 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 18th.
The longest cold spell was straight 18 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in January 2018. The coldest night reached about -30°F on January 31, 2019. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
Most freezing nights fall from November to April, 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 13 and end around May 3.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Iowa. Of roughly 39.6 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 8.6 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 8th of 99. June, August and September see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.63 inches, July 22, 2017. The worst three-day stretch dropped 7.04 inches, ending August 29, 2021, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 97 times a year here. They're the main driver of ice dams and of water working its way through foundation cracks in late winter.
Housing
Roughly 71% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Chickasaw near the middle of Iowa's 99 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 45% of homes are pre-1960 and 14% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
Beyond water
About 16 nights a year in Chickasaw County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (94th of 99 counties). June is the wettest month. 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 Chickasaw County it's 46% utility gas, 18% electric, 32% propane and 2% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than in most Iowa counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Chickasaw County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Howard gets more pipe-freeze nights than Chickasaw. Floyd County has the oldest housing nearby, with 83% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Chickasaw | Iowa median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 45% | 48% | 58 of 99 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 71% | 73% | 54 of 99 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 14% | 13% | 49 of 99 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 2.6% | 3.2% | 61 of 99 |
| Vacant homes | 9.8% | 9.5% | 44 of 99 |
| Wood or propane heat | 34% | 22% | 17 of 99 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 72/yr | 62/yr | 18 of 99 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.6/yr | 7.1/yr | 8 of 99 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 97/yr | 94/yr | 11 of 99 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 16/yr | 29/yr | 94 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 Chickasaw County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in June, August 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