Ringgold County, Iowa · Mount Ayr
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Ringgold County averages 52 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 42% of its homes predate 1960.
July brings the most downpours to Ringgold County, part of 8.4 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Ringgold County gets about 8.4 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Ringgold County, 2.7 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
42% of occupied homes in Ringgold County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Iowa county median of 22.1%.
With 39 muggy nights a year, mold in Ringgold County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
Ringgold County covers 535 square miles of southern Iowa, with about 4,645 residents and 2,678 homes. Mount Ayr is the county seat; Diagonal, Kellerton and Sun Valley Lake are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1973, half after.
47/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Ringgold County ranks 60 of 99 Iowa counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Ringgold County ranks highest compared with other Iowa counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Iowa, and pipes still freeze. It averaged 127 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 52 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 84th.
The longest cold spell was straight 16 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in January 2018. The coldest night reached about -20°F on January 30, 2019. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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 22 and end around Apr 19.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Iowa. About 8.4 days a year bring an inch or more (13th of 99), most often in July, out of 36.6 inches of total precipitation. On November 5, 2022, 2.7 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 3.92 inches, ending October 9, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 92 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
Iowa's 99 counties range widely in housing age; Ringgold ranks 91st, with 58% of its homes built before 1980.
18% 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.
About 23% of homes went up between 1980 and 1999. Some houses from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s were plumbed with polybutylene, a gray plastic pipe known for failing at fittings. A plumber can tell you in a few minutes whether you have it.
29% of homes were vacant at survey time. A leak in an empty rental or seasonal house can run for days before anyone notices, which is why those losses tend to be larger.
Beyond water
About 39 nights a year in Ringgold County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (15th of 99 counties). May is the wettest month. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Ringgold County homes break down as 26% utility gas, 25% electric, 34% propane and 8% 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 Ringgold County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Union gets more pipe-freeze nights than Ringgold. Taylor County has the oldest housing nearby, with 81% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Ringgold | Iowa median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 42% | 48% | 72 of 99 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 58% | 73% | 91 of 99 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 18% | 13% | 20 of 99 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 6% | 3.2% | 13 of 99 |
| Vacant homes | 29% | 9.5% | 2 of 99 |
| Wood or propane heat | 42% | 22% | 5 of 99 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 52/yr | 62/yr | 84 of 99 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.4/yr | 7.1/yr | 13 of 99 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 92/yr | 94/yr | 67 of 99 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 39/yr | 29/yr | 15 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 Ringgold County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in July, August and September.
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