Daviess County, Missouri · Gallatin
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Pipes freeze in Daviess County on about 44 nights a year, mostly November to March. Older homes, 31% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 9.8 times a year here, most often in July. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Daviess County gets about 9.8 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.
44% of occupied homes in Daviess County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Missouri county median of 24.5%.
With 51 muggy nights a year, mold in Daviess County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
Daviess County covers 563 square miles of northwest Missouri, with about 8,477 residents and 4,122 homes. Besides Gallatin, the county seat, the biggest communities are Jamesport, Gilman City and Lake Viking. The county's median home was built in 1977.
60/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Daviess County ranks 21 of 114 Missouri counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Daviess County ranks highest compared with other Missouri counties.
Daviess 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 114 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On January 15, 2024 the low fell to about -14°F, and in the stretch ending January 2018 the county went 16 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
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 25 and the last spring freeze around Apr 13.
Rainfall is about average for Missouri. About 9.8 days a year bring an inch or more (65th of 114), most often in July, out of 38.7 inches of total precipitation. On June 25, 2021, 5.15 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.84 inches (through June 26, 2021).
About 86 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
Missouri's 114 counties range widely in housing age; Daviess ranks 49th, with 55% of its homes built before 1980.
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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 11% 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.
27% 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.
Beyond water
Daviess County averages 51 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in August. 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 Daviess County it's 25% utility gas, 28% electric, 32% propane and 13% 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 Daviess County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Gentry and Harrison get more pipe-freeze nights than Daviess. Grundy County has the oldest housing nearby, with 75% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Daviess | Missouri median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 31% | 25% | 40 of 114 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 55% | 53% | 49 of 114 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 26% | 21% | 33 of 114 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 11% | 9.8% | 48 of 114 |
| Vacant homes | 27% | 15% | 15 of 114 |
| Wood or propane heat | 44% | 25% | 15 of 114 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 44/yr | 28/yr | 11 of 114 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 9.8/yr | 10/yr | 65 of 114 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 86/yr | 77/yr | 16 of 114 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 51/yr | 65/yr | 95 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 Daviess County: freezing from November to March, 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