Fremont County, Iowa · Sidney
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With 52% of homes built before 1960 and about 50 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 7.5 times a year here, most often in May. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
52% 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 Fremont County, 2.82 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
38% of occupied homes in Fremont County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Iowa county median of 22.1%.
With 46 muggy nights a year, mold in Fremont County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 6,514 people live in Fremont County, 511 square miles in southwest Iowa, in roughly 3,125 homes. The county seat is Sidney, and Hamburg, Tabor and Farragut round out the largest towns. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1958.
54/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Fremont County ranks 36 of 99 Iowa counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Fremont County ranks highest compared with other Iowa counties.
Fremont County is milder than most of Iowa, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 50 nights a year at or below 20°F (91st of 99) and 127 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 16 days below freezing (ending January 2018), and the low bottomed out near -24°F on February 16, 2021.
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 20 and the last spring freeze around Apr 17.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Iowa. About 7.5 days a year bring an inch or more (32nd of 99), most often in May, out of 33.6 inches of total precipitation. On August 12, 2016, 2.82 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.45 inches (through October 8, 2017).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 94 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 75% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Fremont near the middle of Iowa's 99 counties.
Before 1960 is when 52% 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.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 46 times a year here, above the Iowa county median of 29. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30 to 50%. Basements can pass 60% on their own in summer, so a dehumidifier matters even without a leak, and anything wet should be dried within 24 to 48 hours.
Mold remediation: what to expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Fremont County it's 45% utility gas, 15% electric, 37% propane and 2% wood. Propane heat is above the Iowa norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Fremont County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Every neighboring county gets more pipe-freeze nights than Fremont. Page County has the oldest housing nearby, with 82% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Fremont | Iowa median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 52% | 48% | 32 of 99 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 75% | 73% | 38 of 99 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 11% | 13% | 66 of 99 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 2.8% | 3.2% | 58 of 99 |
| Vacant homes | 9.7% | 9.5% | 47 of 99 |
| Wood or propane heat | 38% | 22% | 12 of 99 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 50/yr | 62/yr | 91 of 99 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7.5/yr | 7.1/yr | 32 of 99 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 94/yr | 94/yr | 42 of 99 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 46/yr | 29/yr | 2 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 Fremont County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in May, June 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