Renville County, Minnesota · Olivia
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Renville County averages 85 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to April, and 51% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 5.5 times a year here, most often in August. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Renville County gets about 5.5 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 86 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
31% of occupied homes in Renville 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 18 times a year in Renville County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Renville County covers 983 square miles of southwest Minnesota, with about 14,558 residents and 6,916 homes. Olivia is the county seat; Renville, Hector and Fairfax are the next largest communities. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1959.
64/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Renville County ranks 13 of 87 Minnesota counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Renville County ranks highest compared with other Minnesota counties.
For frozen pipes, Renville County is a typical Minnesota county, which is still plenty. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 85 nights a year at or below 20°F (52nd of 87) and 154 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
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.
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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 11 and the last spring freeze around Apr 29.
Rainfall is about average for Minnesota. Of roughly 28.9 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 5.5 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 37th of 87. May, July and August see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.61 inches, August 11, 2016. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.35 inches (through August 19, 2017).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 86 times a year here. They're the main driver of ice dams and of water working its way through foundation cracks in late winter.
Housing
Roughly 77% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Renville among the oldest housing stocks of Minnesota's 87 counties.
Before 1960 is when 51% 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 18 times a year here, above the Minnesota county median of 13. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Renville County homes break down as 44% utility gas, 20% electric, 29% propane and 1% wood. Most homes here heat with gas or electricity, so cooking and electrical faults are the likelier fire sources. Even a contained kitchen fire can send soot through the ductwork to every room.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Renville County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Chippewa, Meeker and Yellow Medicine get more pipe-freeze nights than Renville. Chippewa County has the oldest housing nearby, with 81% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Renville | Minnesota median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 51% | 34% | 10 of 87 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 77% | 58% | 10 of 87 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 8.6% | 21% | 83 of 87 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 3.6% | 3.8% | 45 of 87 |
| Vacant homes | 12% | 11% | 38 of 87 |
| Wood or propane heat | 31% | 30% | 44 of 87 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 85/yr | 89/yr | 52 of 87 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.5/yr | 5.3/yr | 37 of 87 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 86/yr | 86/yr | 44 of 87 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 18/yr | 13/yr | 23 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 Renville 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