Keokuk County, Iowa · Sigourney
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Keokuk County averages 55 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 57% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Keokuk County averages 5.9 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Keokuk County spike on heavy-rain days, about 5.9 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 96 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
40% of occupied homes in Keokuk County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Iowa county median of 22.1%.
About 34 nights a year here stay at 65°F or warmer, so basements and crawl spaces can grow mold even without a leak.
Local risk profile
With 4,647 homes and around 9,924 residents, Keokuk County is 579 square miles of southeast Iowa. Sigourney is the county seat; Hedrick, Keota and What Cheer are the next largest communities. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1950.
48/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Keokuk County ranks 54 of 99 Iowa counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Keokuk County ranks highest compared with other Iowa counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Iowa, and pipes still freeze. It averaged 134 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 55 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 70th.
On January 31, 2019 the low fell to about -27°F, and in the stretch ending January 2018 the county went 16 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
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.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 16 and end around Apr 24.
Keokuk gets fewer downpours than most Iowa counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 33.6 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 5.9 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 89th of 99. May, September and October see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.57 inches, June 10, 2020. The worst three-day stretch dropped 3.92 inches, ending June 11, 2020, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 96 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
Iowa's 99 counties range widely in housing age; Keokuk ranks 16th, with 80% of its homes built before 1980.
In Keokuk County 57% of homes are older than 1960. If yours is one of them and the plumbing has never been replaced, expect galvanized steel supply pipe and cast iron drain lines, the two materials most likely to fail quietly.
With 13% of homes empty at survey time, landlords and seasonal owners should shut off the main or schedule checks in winter. An unheated vacant house is also where many policies limit freeze coverage.
Beyond water
Keokuk County averages 34 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in May. 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 Keokuk County it's 35% utility gas, 21% electric, 37% propane and 4% 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 Keokuk County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Iowa and Poweshiek get more pipe-freeze nights than Keokuk. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Keokuk | Iowa median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 57% | 48% | 11 of 99 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 80% | 73% | 16 of 99 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 11% | 13% | 74 of 99 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 3% | 3.2% | 52 of 99 |
| Vacant homes | 13% | 9.5% | 21 of 99 |
| Wood or propane heat | 40% | 22% | 6 of 99 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 55/yr | 62/yr | 70 of 99 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.9/yr | 7.1/yr | 89 of 99 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 96/yr | 94/yr | 24 of 99 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 34/yr | 29/yr | 34 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 Keokuk County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in May, September and October.
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