Adair County, Missouri · Kirksville
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Adair County averages 44 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 31% of its homes predate 1960.
August brings the most downpours to Adair County, part of 8.9 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
31% 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 Adair County, 4.16 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
20% of occupied homes in Adair County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Missouri county median of 24.5%.
About 46 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
Adair County covers 567 square miles of northern Missouri, with about 25,301 residents and 11,389 homes. Besides Kirksville, the county seat, the biggest communities are Novinger, Brashear and Millard. The county's median home was built in 1973.
54/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Adair County ranks 40 of 114 Missouri counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Adair County ranks highest compared with other Missouri counties.
Adair is on the colder side of Missouri for pipes. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 44 nights a year at or below 20°F (11th of 114) and 115 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 15 days below freezing (ending January 2018), and the low bottomed out near -16°F on January 1, 2018.
The freeze season here runs November to March, 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 23 and the last spring freeze around Apr 16.
Adair gets fewer downpours than most Missouri counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 39.9 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 8.9 days of an inch or more (83rd of 114). Those downpours cluster in June, July and August, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 4.16 inches on May 29, 2019. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.58 inches (through April 28, 2024).
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 63% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Adair among the oldest housing stocks of Missouri's 114 counties.
31% 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.
Renters occupy 39% of homes. If you rent, the building is usually the landlord's to repair, but your belongings are only covered by renters insurance.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 46 times a year here, below the Missouri county median of 64.5. 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 Adair County it's 30% utility gas, 49% electric, 17% propane and 3% 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 Adair County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Putnam, Schuyler, Scotland and Sullivan get more pipe-freeze nights than Adair. Linn County has the oldest housing nearby, with 76% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Adair | Missouri median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 31% | 25% | 41 of 114 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 63% | 53% | 27 of 114 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 17% | 21% | 85 of 114 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 6.6% | 9.8% | 87 of 114 |
| Vacant homes | 20% | 15% | 35 of 114 |
| Wood or propane heat | 20% | 25% | 74 of 114 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 44/yr | 28/yr | 11 of 114 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.9/yr | 10/yr | 83 of 114 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 86/yr | 77/yr | 16 of 114 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 46/yr | 65/yr | 102 of 114 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Missouri county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Adair County: freezing from November to March, 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