Pocahontas County, Iowa · Pocahontas
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With 62% of homes built before 1960 and about 74 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 6 times a year here, most often in August. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Pocahontas County gets about 6 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Pocahontas County, 2.93 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
25% of occupied homes in Pocahontas County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Iowa county median of 22.1%.
About 22 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 3,651 homes and around 7,046 residents, Pocahontas County is 577 square miles of northwest Iowa. Pocahontas is the county seat; Laurens, Rolfe and Fonda are the next largest communities. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1950.
62/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Pocahontas County ranks 21 of 99 Iowa counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Pocahontas County ranks highest compared with other Iowa counties.
Pocahontas County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Iowa. From 2015–2024 it averaged 74 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 149 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 14th of 99 counties.
On January 30, 2019 the low fell to about -26°F, and in the stretch ending February 2019 the county went 19 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
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.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 15 and end around Apr 25.
Pocahontas gets fewer downpours than most Iowa counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 31.9 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 6 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 86th of 99. May, June and August see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.93 inches, September 16, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.51 inches, ending June 21, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
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
Roughly 86% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Pocahontas among the oldest housing stocks of Iowa's 99 counties.
Before 1960 is when 62% 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.
The Census counted 18% of homes as vacant, above the Iowa county median of 9.5%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 22 times a year here, below the Iowa county median of 29. 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 Pocahontas County it's 47% utility gas, 26% electric, 25% propane and under 1% wood. Propane heat is 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 Pocahontas County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Palo Alto gets more pipe-freeze nights than Pocahontas. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Pocahontas | Iowa median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 62% | 48% | 2 of 99 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 86% | 73% | 2 of 99 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 5.6% | 13% | 98 of 99 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 1.3% | 3.2% | 90 of 99 |
| Vacant homes | 18% | 9.5% | 6 of 99 |
| Wood or propane heat | 25% | 22% | 43 of 99 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 74/yr | 62/yr | 14 of 99 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6/yr | 7.1/yr | 86 of 99 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 95/yr | 94/yr | 29 of 99 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 22/yr | 29/yr | 71 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 Pocahontas County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in May, June 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