Wayne County, Iowa · Corydon
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Pipes freeze in Wayne County on about 54 nights a year, mostly November to March. Older homes, 44% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in July. Wayne County averages 7.6 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Wayne County spike on heavy-rain days, about 7.6 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
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.
39% of occupied homes in Wayne County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Iowa county median of 22.1%.
With 36 muggy nights a year, mold in Wayne County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 3,019 homes and around 6,532 residents, Wayne County is 525 square miles of southern Iowa. Besides Corydon, the county seat, the biggest communities are Seymour, Humeston and Allerton. Half the homes here were built before 1969, half after.
47/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Wayne County ranks 61 of 99 Iowa counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Wayne County ranks highest compared with other Iowa counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Iowa, and pipes still freeze. From 2015–2024 it averaged 54 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 130 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 71st of 99 counties.
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 1, 2018. 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 20 and end around Apr 22.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Iowa. The county gets about 36.9 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 7.6 days of an inch or more (31st of 99). Those downpours cluster in July, September and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.5 inches on May 29, 2019. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.24 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 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 69% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Wayne near the middle of Iowa's 99 counties.
The mix runs from 44% built before 1960 to 17% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
7% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, above the Iowa county median of 3.2%. Their water lines run under the floor behind the skirting, so a torn skirt or failed heat tape freezes them faster than lines in a site-built house.
The Census counted 15% 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
About 36 nights a year in Wayne County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (27th 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Wayne County it's 34% utility gas, 25% electric, 34% propane and 5% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than the state median. Have chimneys swept and fuel-burning appliances serviced each fall, and keep three feet clear around stoves and space heaters.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Wayne County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Wayne gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Lucas County has the oldest housing nearby, with 75% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Wayne | Iowa median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 44% | 48% | 61 of 99 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 69% | 73% | 59 of 99 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 17% | 13% | 32 of 99 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 7.1% | 3.2% | 10 of 99 |
| Vacant homes | 15% | 9.5% | 14 of 99 |
| Wood or propane heat | 39% | 22% | 9 of 99 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 54/yr | 62/yr | 71 of 99 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7.6/yr | 7.1/yr | 31 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 Wayne County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in July, September and October.
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