Barry County, Missouri · Cassville
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Barry County averages 19 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 19% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Barry County averages 13.5 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Barry County spike on heavy-rain days, about 13.5 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 72 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
38% of occupied homes in Barry County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Missouri county median of 24.5%.
With 66 muggy nights a year, mold in Barry County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 17,063 homes and around 35,033 residents, Barry County is 778 square miles of southwest Missouri. Cassville is the county seat; Monett, Shell Knob and Purdy are the next largest communities. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1986.
43/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Barry County ranks 79 of 114 Missouri counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Barry County ranks highest compared with other Missouri counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Missouri, and pipes still freeze. From 2015–2024 it averaged 19 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 81 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 100th of 114 counties.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about -13°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 10 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Most freezing nights fall from December to February, peaking in January. Disconnect garden hoses and shut off outdoor spigots before the first hard frost, and keep the heat at 55°F or higher if you'll be away.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 31 and end around Apr 6.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Missouri. The county gets about 50 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 13.5 days of an inch or more (6th of 114). Those downpours cluster in March, May and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 5.42 inches on December 27, 2015. The worst three-day stretch dropped 9.76 inches, ending December 29, 2015, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 72 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 42% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Barry among the newer housing stocks of Missouri's 114 counties.
26% of homes were built in 2000 or later, more than in most of Missouri. Newer plumbing rarely corrodes, so damage here tends to come from appliance supply lines, water heaters, sump pumps and storms.
About 32% of homes went up between 1980 and 1999. Some houses from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s were plumbed with polybutylene, a gray plastic pipe known for failing at fittings. A plumber can tell you in a few minutes whether you have it.
15% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, above the Missouri county median of 9.8%. Their water lines run under the floor behind the skirting, so a torn skirt or failed heat tape freezes them faster than lines in a site-built house.
The Census counted 22% of homes as vacant, above the Missouri county median of 15.3%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 66 times a year here, close to the Missouri county median of 64.5. Keep indoor humidity under 60%, as the EPA advises, and dry any leak within 24 to 48 hours; in a humid month a wet basement left alone won't dry by itself.
Mold remediation: what to expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Barry County it's 20% utility gas, 41% electric, 28% propane and 10% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than in most Missouri counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Barry County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Lawrence and Stone get more pipe-freeze nights than Barry. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Lawrence County has the oldest housing nearby, with 51% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Barry | Missouri median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 19% | 25% | 86 of 114 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 42% | 53% | 95 of 114 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 26% | 21% | 29 of 114 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 15% | 9.8% | 19 of 114 |
| Vacant homes | 22% | 15% | 27 of 114 |
| Wood or propane heat | 38% | 25% | 27 of 114 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 19/yr | 28/yr | 100 of 114 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 14/yr | 10/yr | 6 of 114 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 72/yr | 77/yr | 88 of 114 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 66/yr | 65/yr | 50 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 Barry County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in March, May and October.
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