Nobles County, Minnesota · Worthington
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Pipes freeze in Nobles County on about 83 nights a year, mostly November to April. Older homes, 43% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in June. Nobles County averages 6.2 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Nobles County gets about 6.2 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 91 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
33% of occupied homes in Nobles County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Minnesota county median of 30%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 17 times a year in Nobles County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Nobles County covers 715 square miles of southwest Minnesota, with about 22,041 residents and 8,396 homes. Besides Worthington, the county seat, the biggest communities are Adrian, Brewster and Ellsworth. The county's median home was built in 1967.
60/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Nobles County ranks 20 of 87 Minnesota counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Nobles County ranks highest compared with other Minnesota counties.
For frozen pipes, Nobles County is a typical Minnesota county, which is still plenty. It averaged 161 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 83 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 57th.
On January 30, 2019 the low fell to about -27°F, and in the stretch ending March 2019 the county went 34 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs November to April. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 10 and the last spring freeze around May 2.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Minnesota. Of roughly 31.4 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 6.2 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 20th of 87. June, August and September see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.06 inches, June 21, 2018. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.31 inches (through June 23, 2024).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 91 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
72% of homes in Nobles County predate 1980, above the Minnesota county median of 58.4%, which ranks 19th of Minnesota's 87 counties.
Before 1960 is when 43% 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 17 times a year here, above 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Nobles County homes break down as 49% utility gas, 16% electric, 32% propane and under 1% wood. Propane heat is 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 Nobles County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Murray gets more pipe-freeze nights than Nobles. Jackson County has the oldest housing nearby, with 80% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Nobles | Minnesota median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 43% | 34% | 27 of 87 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 72% | 58% | 19 of 87 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 13% | 21% | 68 of 87 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 1.8% | 3.8% | 72 of 87 |
| Vacant homes | 8.6% | 11% | 57 of 87 |
| Wood or propane heat | 33% | 30% | 37 of 87 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 83/yr | 89/yr | 57 of 87 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6.2/yr | 5.3/yr | 20 of 87 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 91/yr | 86/yr | 12 of 87 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 17/yr | 13/yr | 29 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 Nobles County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in June, August and September.
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