Howard County, Iowa · Cresco
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Pipes freeze in Howard County on about 77 nights a year, mostly November to April. Older homes, 50% of the stock here, are most at risk.
June brings the most downpours to Howard County, part of 8.6 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in Howard County spike on heavy-rain days, about 8.6 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Howard County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 4.06 inches, and about 95 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
48% of occupied homes in Howard County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Iowa county median of 22.1%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 11 times a year in Howard County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Howard County covers 473 square miles of northeast Iowa, with about 9,445 residents and 4,320 homes. Cresco is the county seat; Riceville, Elma and Lime Springs are the next largest communities. The county's median home was built in 1960.
67/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Howard County ranks 8 of 99 Iowa counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Howard County ranks highest compared with other Iowa counties.
Howard is on the colder side of Iowa for pipes. It averaged 159 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 77 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 8th.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 32 days below freezing (ending March 2019), and the low bottomed out near -33°F on January 31, 2019.
The freeze season here runs November to April, 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 13 and the last spring freeze around May 4.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Iowa. About 8.6 days a year bring an inch or more (8th of 99), most often in June, out of 39.4 inches of total precipitation. On September 22, 2016, 4.06 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 6.59 inches (through August 29, 2021).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 95 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
Iowa's 99 counties range widely in housing age; Howard ranks 24th, with 77% of its homes built before 1980.
Housing age is mixed: 50% of homes are pre-1960 and 12% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
13% of homes were vacant at survey time. A leak in an empty rental or seasonal house can run for days before anyone notices, which is why those losses tend to be larger.
Beyond water
Howard County averages 11 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in June. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Howard County's occupied homes: 39% utility gas, 8% electric, 42% propane and 7% 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 Howard 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 any of its neighbors. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Howard | Iowa median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 50% | 48% | 44 of 99 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 77% | 73% | 24 of 99 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 12% | 13% | 62 of 99 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 1.7% | 3.2% | 79 of 99 |
| Vacant homes | 13% | 9.5% | 20 of 99 |
| Wood or propane heat | 48% | 22% | 3 of 99 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 77/yr | 62/yr | 8 of 99 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.6/yr | 7.1/yr | 8 of 99 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 95/yr | 94/yr | 29 of 99 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 11/yr | 29/yr | 99 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 Howard County: freezing from November to April, 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