Lincoln County, Minnesota · Ivanhoe
Water spreading, a burst pipe, sewage, mold or smoke? Call to be connected with a restoration company that serves Tyler, Lake Benton and Ivanhoe. 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.
Lincoln County averages 90 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to April, and 51% of its homes predate 1960.
July brings the most downpours to Lincoln County, part of 5.1 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
51% of homes here predate 1960, when clay and cast iron sewer laterals were standard. Roots and cracks in those lines are a common cause of backups.
In Lincoln County, 2.94 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
36% of occupied homes in Lincoln County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Minnesota county median of 30%.
With 14 muggy nights a year, mold in Lincoln County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 5,603 people live in Lincoln County, 537 square miles in southwest Minnesota, in roughly 3,045 homes. Ivanhoe is the county seat; Tyler, Lake Benton and Hendricks are the next largest communities. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1959.
62/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Lincoln County ranks 18 of 87 Minnesota counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Lincoln County ranks highest compared with other Minnesota counties.
For frozen pipes, Lincoln County is a typical Minnesota county, which is still plenty. It averaged 163 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 90 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 87 Minnesota counties that's 41st.
The longest cold spell was straight 34 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in March 2019. The coldest night reached about -29°F on January 31, 2019. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
Most freezing nights fall from November to April, 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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 10 and the last spring freeze around May 6.
Rainfall is about average for Minnesota. The county gets about 29.2 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 5.1 days of an inch or more (49th of 87). Those downpours cluster in May, July and August, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.94 inches on September 12, 2019. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.38 inches (through September 12, 2019).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 87 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 75% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Lincoln among the oldest housing stocks of Minnesota's 87 counties.
51% were built before 1960. Homes from that era often still have galvanized steel supply pipe, which rusts from the inside until it pinholes, and cast iron drains that crack with age. Slow leaks behind walls are a common start to water damage in these houses.
20% 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
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 14 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Lincoln County it's 31% utility gas, 25% electric, 34% propane and 2% wood. Propane heat is above the Minnesota norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Lincoln County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Lincoln gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Pipestone County has the oldest housing nearby, with 80% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Lincoln | Minnesota median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 51% | 34% | 11 of 87 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 75% | 58% | 13 of 87 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 12% | 21% | 72 of 87 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 1.5% | 3.8% | 77 of 87 |
| Vacant homes | 20% | 11% | 22 of 87 |
| Wood or propane heat | 36% | 30% | 29 of 87 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 90/yr | 89/yr | 41 of 87 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.1/yr | 5.3/yr | 49 of 87 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 87/yr | 86/yr | 37 of 87 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 14/yr | 13/yr | 38 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 Lincoln 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