Carter County, Missouri · Van Buren
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Carter County averages 20 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to February, and 12% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 12.8 times a year here, most often in May. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
12% 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 Carter County, 4.93 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
39% of occupied homes in Carter County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Missouri county median of 24.5%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 66 times a year in Carter County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Carter County covers 507 square miles of southeast Missouri, with about 5,297 residents and 2,676 homes. Besides Van Buren, the county seat, the biggest communities are Ellsinore, Grandin and Fremont. The county's median home was built in 1983.
37/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Carter County ranks 104 of 114 Missouri counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Carter County ranks highest compared with other Missouri counties.
Carter County is milder than most of Missouri, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. From 2015–2024 it averaged 20 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 86 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 94th of 114 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 10 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -5°F on February 16, 2021.
Most freezing nights fall from November 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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 29 and the last spring freeze around Apr 8.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Missouri. Of roughly 50.5 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 12.8 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 16th of 114. March, May and August see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.93 inches, April 30, 2017. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 7.95 inches (through August 16, 2016).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 78 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 46% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Carter among the newer housing stocks of Missouri's 114 counties.
Growth since 2000 added 26% of today's homes. In houses that new, the weak points are washing machine hoses, ice maker lines, water heaters and sump pumps rather than the pipes in the walls.
28% date from 1980 to 1999, the window when polybutylene, a gray flexible plastic supply pipe, was used in some homes. It's prone to leaks at the fittings, so it's worth checking for in a house from those years.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 21% of the housing here. Water lines in the underbelly depend on intact skirting and working heat tape, and they're usually the first to freeze in a cold snap.
24% 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
Carter County averages 66 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in May. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Carter County's occupied homes: 7% utility gas, 52% electric, 29% propane and 10% wood. Wood and propane heat are 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 Carter County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Reynolds and Shannon get more pipe-freeze nights than Carter. Reynolds County has the oldest housing nearby, with 61% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Carter | Missouri median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 12% | 25% | 103 of 114 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 46% | 53% | 82 of 114 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 26% | 21% | 31 of 114 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 21% | 9.8% | 5 of 114 |
| Vacant homes | 24% | 15% | 22 of 114 |
| Wood or propane heat | 39% | 25% | 22 of 114 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 20/yr | 28/yr | 94 of 114 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 13/yr | 10/yr | 16 of 114 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 78/yr | 77/yr | 48 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 Carter County: freezing from November to February, heavy rain in March, May 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