Redwood County, Minnesota · Redwood Falls
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Redwood County averages 84 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to April, and 46% of its homes predate 1960.
August brings the most downpours to Redwood County, part of 6 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
46% 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.
Redwood County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.7 inches, and about 86 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
32% of occupied homes in Redwood County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Minnesota county median of 30%.
About 21 nights a year here stay at 65°F or warmer, so basements and crawl spaces can grow mold even without a leak.
Local risk profile
About 15,350 people live in Redwood County, 879 square miles in southwest Minnesota, in roughly 7,110 homes. The county seat is Redwood Falls, and Morgan, Lamberton and Walnut Grove round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1965, half after.
65/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Redwood County ranks 12 of 87 Minnesota counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Redwood County ranks highest compared with other Minnesota counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Redwood County sits near the middle of the state. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 84 nights a year at or below 20°F (55th of 87) and 154 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
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 -29°F on January 31, 2019.
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.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 11 and end around Apr 26.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Minnesota. The county gets about 30.6 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 6 days of an inch or more (23rd of 87). Those downpours cluster in June, July and August, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.7 inches on August 17, 2017. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.64 inches, ending August 19, 2017, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 86 days a year swing from below freezing at night to above freezing by day. Those freeze-thaw cycles feed ice dams on roofs, open cracks in foundations and driveways, and stress pipes that are already marginal.
Housing
71% of homes in Redwood County predate 1980, above the Minnesota county median of 58.4%, which ranks 21st of Minnesota's 87 counties.
46% 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.
Beyond water
About 21 nights a year in Redwood County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (11th of 87 counties). August 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 expectMain heating fuel in Redwood County's occupied homes: 38% utility gas, 23% electric, 31% propane and 1% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Redwood County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Lyon, Murray, Renville and Yellow Medicine get more pipe-freeze nights than Redwood. Yellow Medicine County has the oldest housing nearby, with 79% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Redwood | Minnesota median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 46% | 34% | 24 of 87 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 71% | 58% | 21 of 87 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 11% | 21% | 74 of 87 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 4.5% | 3.8% | 36 of 87 |
| Vacant homes | 12% | 11% | 41 of 87 |
| Wood or propane heat | 32% | 30% | 40 of 87 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 84/yr | 89/yr | 55 of 87 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6/yr | 5.3/yr | 23 of 87 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 86/yr | 86/yr | 44 of 87 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 21/yr | 13/yr | 11 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 Redwood 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