Dent County, Missouri · Salem
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Pipes freeze in Dent County on about 29 nights a year, mostly November to February. Older homes, 22% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 11.7 times a year here, most often in May. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Dent County gets about 11.7 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 85 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
45% of occupied homes in Dent County heat mainly with wood or propane, above 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
With 6,822 homes and around 14,539 residents, Dent County is 753 square miles of central Missouri. The county seat is Salem. The county's median home was built in 1978.
45/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Dent County ranks 77 of 114 Missouri counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Dent County ranks highest compared with other Missouri counties.
For frozen pipes, Dent County is a typical Missouri county, which is still plenty. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 29 nights a year at or below 20°F (49th of 114) and 96 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On December 23, 2022 the low fell to about -9°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 12 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
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 25 and the last spring freeze around Apr 16.
Rainfall is about average for Missouri. About 11.7 days a year bring an inch or more (39th of 114), most often in May, out of 48.5 inches of total precipitation. On November 5, 2024, 6.13 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 9.93 inches (through November 6, 2024).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 85 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 53% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Dent near the middle of Missouri's 114 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 22% of homes are pre-1960 and 20% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
27% 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.
Here 18% of housing is manufactured homes. Check the skirting and the heat tape on the main water line every fall, because that one exposed line is what freezes.
The Census counted 18% 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 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 expectMain heating fuel in Dent County's occupied homes: 8% utility gas, 44% electric, 22% propane and 23% 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 Dent County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Crawford and Iron get more pipe-freeze nights than Dent. Iron County has the oldest housing nearby, with 62% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Dent | Missouri median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 22% | 25% | 71 of 114 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 53% | 53% | 58 of 114 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 20% | 21% | 64 of 114 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 18% | 9.8% | 10 of 114 |
| Vacant homes | 18% | 15% | 47 of 114 |
| Wood or propane heat | 45% | 25% | 14 of 114 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 29/yr | 28/yr | 49 of 114 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 12/yr | 10/yr | 39 of 114 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 85/yr | 77/yr | 23 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 Dent County: freezing from November 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