Page County, Iowa · Clarinda
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With 56% of homes built before 1960 and about 51 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 7.7 times a year here, most often in June. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Page County gets about 7.7 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Page County, 2.86 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
20% of occupied homes in Page County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Iowa county median of 22.1%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 42 times a year in Page County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 15,131 people live in Page County, 535 square miles in southwest Iowa, in roughly 7,004 homes. The county seat is Clarinda, and Shenandoah, Essex and Coin round out the largest towns. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1954.
61/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Page County ranks 22 of 99 Iowa counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Page County ranks highest compared with other Iowa counties.
Page County is milder than most of Iowa, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. From 2015–2024 it averaged 51 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 127 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 87th of 99 counties.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about -22°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 19 and the last spring freeze around Apr 17.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Iowa. The county gets about 35.2 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 7.7 days of an inch or more (27th of 99). Those downpours cluster in May, June and July, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.86 inches on July 16, 2015. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.86 inches (through October 8, 2017).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 93 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
82% of homes in Page County predate 1980, above the Iowa county median of 72.8%, which ranks 11th of Iowa's 99 counties.
Before 1960 is when 56% 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.
Renters occupy 30% 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
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 42 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 Page County it's 52% utility gas, 28% electric, 18% propane and 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 Page County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Montgomery and Taylor get more pipe-freeze nights than Page. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Page | Iowa median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 56% | 48% | 13 of 99 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 82% | 73% | 11 of 99 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 8.4% | 13% | 89 of 99 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 1.7% | 3.2% | 79 of 99 |
| Vacant homes | 11% | 9.5% | 33 of 99 |
| Wood or propane heat | 20% | 22% | 65 of 99 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 51/yr | 62/yr | 87 of 99 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7.7/yr | 7.1/yr | 27 of 99 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 93/yr | 94/yr | 54 of 99 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 42/yr | 29/yr | 5 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 Page 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