Mower County, Minnesota · Austin
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Mower County averages 77 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to April, and 55% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 7.7 times a year here, most often in July. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Mower County gets about 7.7 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Mower County, 3.95 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
18% of occupied homes in Mower County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Minnesota county median of 30%.
With 13 muggy nights a year, mold in Mower County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 40,343 people live in Mower County, 711 square miles in southern Minnesota, in roughly 17,014 homes. The county seat is Austin, and Grand Meadow, Brownsdale and Le Roy round out the largest towns. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1958.
63/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Mower County ranks 14 of 87 Minnesota counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Mower 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 77 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 158 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 78th of 87 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 32 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in March 2019. The coldest night reached about -32°F on January 31, 2019. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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 3.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Minnesota. About 7.7 days a year bring an inch or more (7th of 87), most often in July, out of 37.9 inches of total precipitation. On June 22, 2024, 3.95 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.25 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 89 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 74% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Mower among the oldest housing stocks of Minnesota's 87 counties.
Before 1960 is when 55% 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
About 13 nights a year in Mower County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (41st of 87 counties). June 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 Mower County it's 61% utility gas, 18% electric, 18% propane and under 1% wood. Heating equipment, cooking and electrical failures cause most home fires nationally. Even a small kitchen fire can leave soot through the whole house, because smoke follows air currents into closets, ducts and attic space.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Mower County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Dodge, Freeborn, Olmsted and Steele get more pipe-freeze nights than Mower. Freeborn County has the oldest housing nearby, with 79% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Mower | Minnesota median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 55% | 34% | 3 of 87 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 74% | 58% | 15 of 87 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 14% | 21% | 61 of 87 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 1.8% | 3.8% | 72 of 87 |
| Vacant homes | 7.6% | 11% | 60 of 87 |
| Wood or propane heat | 18% | 30% | 69 of 87 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 77/yr | 89/yr | 78 of 87 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7.7/yr | 5.3/yr | 7 of 87 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 89/yr | 86/yr | 23 of 87 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 13/yr | 13/yr | 41 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 Mower County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in May, June and July.
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