Franklin County, Iowa · Hampton
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Franklin County averages 69 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 60% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 7 times a year here, most often in August. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Franklin County gets about 7 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 93 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
23% of occupied homes in Franklin County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Iowa county median of 22.1%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 21 times a year in Franklin County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
With 4,657 homes and around 9,956 residents, Franklin County is 582 square miles of northern Iowa. Besides Hampton, the county seat, the biggest communities are Sheffield, Latimer and Alexander. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1954.
65/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Franklin County ranks 14 of 99 Iowa counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Franklin County ranks highest compared with other Iowa counties.
Franklin is on the colder side of Iowa for pipes. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 69 nights a year at or below 20°F (26th of 99) and 148 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On January 31, 2019 the low fell to about -27°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 18 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Most freezing nights fall from November to March, 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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 14 and the last spring freeze around Apr 29.
Rainfall is about average for Iowa. About 7 days a year bring an inch or more (52nd of 99), most often in August, out of 36 inches of total precipitation. On August 29, 2015, 3.12 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5 inches (through September 21, 2018).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 93 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 85% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Franklin among the oldest housing stocks of Iowa's 99 counties.
60% were built before 1960. Homes from that era often still have galvanized steel supply pipe, which rusts from the inside until it pinholes, and cast iron drains that crack with age. Slow leaks behind walls are a common start to water damage in these houses.
Beyond water
About 21 nights a year in Franklin County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (79th 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 expectMain heating fuel in Franklin County's occupied homes: 46% utility gas, 29% electric, 22% propane and 1% wood. Most homes here heat with gas or electricity, so cooking and electrical faults are the likelier fire sources. Even a contained kitchen fire can send soot through the ductwork to every room.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Franklin County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Cerro Gordo and Wright get more pipe-freeze nights than Franklin. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Franklin | Iowa median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 60% | 48% | 5 of 99 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 85% | 73% | 3 of 99 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 6.5% | 13% | 95 of 99 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 1.6% | 3.2% | 83 of 99 |
| Vacant homes | 9.9% | 9.5% | 42 of 99 |
| Wood or propane heat | 23% | 22% | 49 of 99 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 69/yr | 62/yr | 26 of 99 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7/yr | 7.1/yr | 52 of 99 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 93/yr | 94/yr | 54 of 99 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 21/yr | 29/yr | 79 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 Franklin County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in May, June and August.
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