Madison County, Iowa · Winterset
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Pipes freeze in Madison County on about 56 nights a year, mostly November to March. Older homes, 34% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 6.5 times a year here, most often in July. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Madison County gets about 6.5 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 95 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
33% of occupied homes in Madison County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Iowa county median of 22.1%.
With 36 muggy nights a year, mold in Madison County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 16,926 people live in Madison County, 561 square miles in southern Iowa, in roughly 7,100 homes. Winterset is the county seat; Earlham, St. Charles and Truro are the next largest communities. The county's median home was built in 1977.
30/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Madison County ranks 96 of 99 Iowa counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Madison County ranks highest compared with other Iowa counties.
For frozen pipes, Madison County is a typical Iowa county, which is still plenty. From 2015–2024 it averaged 56 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 133 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 64th of 99 counties.
On January 30, 2019 the low fell to about -23°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.
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 17 and the last spring freeze around Apr 23.
Madison gets fewer downpours than most Iowa counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 33.2 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 6.5 days of an inch or more (71st of 99). Those downpours cluster in June, July and August, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.47 inches on July 29, 2015. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 3.48 inches (through July 29, 2015).
About 95 days a year swing from below freezing at night to above freezing by day. Those freeze-thaw cycles feed ice dams on roofs, open cracks in foundations and driveways, and stress pipes that are already marginal.
Housing
Iowa's 99 counties range widely in housing age; Madison ranks 92nd, with 55% of its homes built before 1980.
28% of homes were built in 2000 or later, more than in most of Iowa. Newer plumbing rarely corrodes, so damage here tends to come from appliance supply lines, water heaters, sump pumps and storms.
Beyond water
Madison County averages 36 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in May. 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 Madison County it's 39% utility gas, 26% electric, 29% propane and 3% 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 Madison County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Adair gets more pipe-freeze nights than Madison. Adair County has the oldest housing nearby, with 77% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Madison | Iowa median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 34% | 48% | 88 of 99 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 55% | 73% | 92 of 99 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 28% | 13% | 6 of 99 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 5.3% | 3.2% | 18 of 99 |
| Vacant homes | 5.7% | 9.5% | 94 of 99 |
| Wood or propane heat | 33% | 22% | 21 of 99 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 56/yr | 62/yr | 64 of 99 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6.5/yr | 7.1/yr | 71 of 99 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 95/yr | 94/yr | 29 of 99 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 36/yr | 29/yr | 27 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 Madison County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in June, July 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