Chippewa County, Minnesota · Montevideo
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Pipes freeze in Chippewa County on about 89 nights a year, mostly November to April. Older homes, 54% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 5.7 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 Chippewa County gets about 5.7 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 90 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
22% of occupied homes in Chippewa County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Minnesota county median of 30%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 16 times a year in Chippewa County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
With 5,661 homes and around 12,377 residents, Chippewa County is 581 square miles of southwest Minnesota. The county seat is Montevideo, and Clara City, Milan and Maynard round out the largest towns. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1957.
69/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Chippewa County ranks 5 of 87 Minnesota counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Chippewa County ranks highest compared with other Minnesota counties.
For frozen pipes, Chippewa County is a typical Minnesota county, which is still plenty. From 2015–2024 it averaged 89 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 159 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 43rd of 87 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 34 days below freezing (ending March 2019), and the low bottomed out near -30°F on January 31, 2019.
The freeze season here runs November to April, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 11 and the last spring freeze around May 3.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Minnesota. About 5.7 days a year bring an inch or more (29th of 87), most often in August, out of 28.8 inches of total precipitation. On August 11, 2016, 3.81 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.39 inches (through August 12, 2016).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 90 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
Minnesota's 87 counties range widely in housing age; Chippewa ranks 2nd, with 81% of its homes built before 1980.
In Chippewa County 54% of homes are older than 1960. If yours is one of them and the plumbing has never been replaced, expect galvanized steel supply pipe and cast iron drain lines, the two materials most likely to fail quietly.
Renters occupy 28% 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
Chippewa County averages 16 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in August. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Chippewa County's occupied homes: 52% utility gas, 21% electric, 21% propane and under 1% wood. Most homes here heat with gas or electricity, so cooking and electrical faults are the likelier fire sources. Even a contained kitchen fire can send soot through the ductwork to every room.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Chippewa County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Kandiyohi and Swift get more pipe-freeze nights than Chippewa. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Chippewa | Minnesota median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 54% | 34% | 5 of 87 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 81% | 58% | 2 of 87 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 6.9% | 21% | 86 of 87 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 2.5% | 3.8% | 60 of 87 |
| Vacant homes | 9.5% | 11% | 51 of 87 |
| Wood or propane heat | 22% | 30% | 58 of 87 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 89/yr | 89/yr | 43 of 87 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.7/yr | 5.3/yr | 29 of 87 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 90/yr | 86/yr | 13 of 87 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 16/yr | 13/yr | 32 of 87 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Minnesota county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Chippewa County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in May, 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