Dade County, Missouri · Greenfield
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With 36% of homes built before 1960 and about 22 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
May brings the most downpours to Dade County, part of 12.1 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
36% 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.
Dade County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 4.73 inches, and about 73 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
41% of occupied homes in Dade County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Missouri county median of 24.5%.
With 72 muggy nights a year, mold in Dade County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
Dade County covers 490 square miles of southwest Missouri, with about 7,641 residents and 3,774 homes. Greenfield is the county seat; Lockwood, Dadeville and Everton are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1972, half after.
62/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Dade County ranks 13 of 114 Missouri counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Dade 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 22 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 84 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 86th of 114 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 13 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -15°F on February 16, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
The freeze season here runs December to February, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 30 and end around Apr 9.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Missouri. About 12.1 days a year bring an inch or more (30th of 114), most often in May, out of 46.3 inches of total precipitation. On December 27, 2015, 4.73 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 7.45 inches, ending December 29, 2015, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 73 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
Roughly 61% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Dade among the oldest housing stocks of Missouri's 114 counties.
Before 1960 is when 36% 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.
11% 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 19% 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
About 72 nights a year in Dade County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (22nd of 114 counties). May 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Dade County homes break down as 22% utility gas, 33% electric, 30% propane and 12% wood. Wood and propane heat are above the Missouri norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Dade County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Greene and Polk get more pipe-freeze nights than Dade. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Dade | Missouri median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 36% | 25% | 20 of 114 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 61% | 53% | 34 of 114 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 19% | 21% | 73 of 114 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 11% | 9.8% | 43 of 114 |
| Vacant homes | 19% | 15% | 40 of 114 |
| Wood or propane heat | 41% | 25% | 18 of 114 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 22/yr | 28/yr | 86 of 114 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 12/yr | 10/yr | 30 of 114 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 73/yr | 77/yr | 81 of 114 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 72/yr | 65/yr | 22 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 Dade County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in April, 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