Fillmore County, Minnesota · Preston
Water spreading, a burst pipe, sewage, mold or smoke? Call to be connected with a restoration company that serves Chatfield, Spring Valley and Rushford. Start the steps below while you wait.
Answered 24/7 by a participating local provider. We're a referral service and don't do the work ourselves. How it works
Start here
Pick the closest match. These steps limit the damage and protect your insurance claim. Skip anything that isn't safe.
Pipes freeze in Fillmore County on about 76 nights a year, mostly November to April. Older homes, 46% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 7.5 times a year here, most often in July. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Sewage backups in Fillmore County spike on heavy-rain days, about 7.5 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 93 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
40% of occupied homes in Fillmore County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Minnesota county median of 30%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 12 times a year in Fillmore County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Fillmore County covers 861 square miles of southeast Minnesota, with about 21,414 residents and 9,692 homes. Preston is the county seat; Chatfield, Spring Valley and Rushford are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1966, half after.
53/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Fillmore County ranks 34 of 87 Minnesota counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Fillmore County ranks highest compared with other Minnesota counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Minnesota, and pipes still freeze. From 2015–2024 it averaged 76 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 81st of 87 counties.
On January 31, 2019 the low fell to about -35°F, and in the stretch ending March 2019 the county went 32 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
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.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 13 and end around May 5.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Minnesota. Of roughly 38 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 7.5 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 11th of 87. June, July and August see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.47 inches, September 22, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.44 inches, ending August 29, 2021, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 93 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
Minnesota's 87 counties range widely in housing age; Fillmore ranks 38th, with 63% of its homes built before 1980.
Before 1960 is when 46% 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.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 12 times a year here, close to the Minnesota county median of 13. Mold grows when indoor humidity stays above about 60%, the EPA's ceiling. A basement dehumidifier set to 50% and drying anything wet within 24 to 48 hours prevents most problems.
Mold remediation: what to expectMain heating fuel in Fillmore County's occupied homes: 48% utility gas, 10% electric, 33% propane and 7% 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 Fillmore County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Mower and Olmsted get more pipe-freeze nights than Fillmore. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Mower County has the oldest housing nearby, with 74% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Fillmore | Minnesota median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 46% | 34% | 22 of 87 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 63% | 58% | 38 of 87 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 22% | 21% | 37 of 87 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 2.9% | 3.8% | 54 of 87 |
| Vacant homes | 10% | 11% | 50 of 87 |
| Wood or propane heat | 40% | 30% | 21 of 87 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 76/yr | 89/yr | 81 of 87 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7.5/yr | 5.3/yr | 11 of 87 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 93/yr | 86/yr | 5 of 87 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 12/yr | 13/yr | 45 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 Fillmore County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in June, 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