Montgomery County, Iowa · Red Oak
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Pipes freeze in Montgomery County on about 54 nights a year, mostly November to March. Older homes, 51% of the stock here, are most at risk.
August brings the most downpours to Montgomery County, part of 8 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in Montgomery County spike on heavy-rain days, about 8 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Montgomery County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.64 inches, and about 95 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
20% of occupied homes in Montgomery 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 37 times a year in Montgomery County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Montgomery County covers 424 square miles of southwest Iowa, with about 10,214 residents and 5,005 homes. Red Oak is the county seat; Villisca, Stanton and Elliott are the next largest communities. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1959.
57/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Montgomery County ranks 30 of 99 Iowa counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Montgomery County ranks highest compared with other Iowa counties.
Montgomery County is milder than most of Iowa, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. It averaged 131 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 54 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 71st.
The longest cold spell was straight 16 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in January 2018. The coldest night reached about -23°F on February 16, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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 19 and the last spring freeze around Apr 20.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Iowa. The county gets about 34.9 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 8 days of an inch or more (20th of 99). Those downpours cluster in June, July and August, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.64 inches on August 20, 2018. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.29 inches (through October 8, 2017).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 95 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; Montgomery ranks 31st, with 76% of its homes built before 1980.
Housing age is mixed: 51% 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.
Renters occupy 31% of homes. If you rent, the building is usually the landlord's to repair, but your belongings are only covered by renters insurance.
Beyond water
Montgomery County averages 37 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in May. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Montgomery County homes break down as 51% utility gas, 28% electric, 20% propane and under 1% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Montgomery County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Adams, Cass and Pottawattamie get more pipe-freeze nights than Montgomery. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Page County has the oldest housing nearby, with 82% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Montgomery | Iowa median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 51% | 48% | 38 of 99 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 76% | 73% | 31 of 99 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 12% | 13% | 63 of 99 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 2.8% | 3.2% | 58 of 99 |
| Vacant homes | 8.4% | 9.5% | 67 of 99 |
| Wood or propane heat | 20% | 22% | 61 of 99 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 54/yr | 62/yr | 71 of 99 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8/yr | 7.1/yr | 20 of 99 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 95/yr | 94/yr | 29 of 99 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 37/yr | 29/yr | 24 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 Montgomery 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