Grundy County, Missouri · Trenton
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Grundy County averages 43 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 46% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 8.6 times a year here, most often in July. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
46% 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 Grundy County, 4.82 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
31% of occupied homes in Grundy County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Missouri county median of 24.5%.
With 54 muggy nights a year, mold in Grundy County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
Grundy County covers 435 square miles of northwest Missouri, with about 9,787 residents and 4,834 homes. Besides Trenton, the county seat, the biggest communities are Spickard, Galt and Leisure Lake. The county's median home was built in 1963.
63/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Grundy County ranks 6 of 114 Missouri counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Grundy County ranks highest compared with other Missouri counties.
Grundy is on the colder side of Missouri for pipes. It averaged 113 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 43 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 114 Missouri counties that's 16th.
The longest cold spell was straight 16 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in January 2018. The coldest night reached about -15°F on January 15, 2024. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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 24 and the last spring freeze around Apr 14.
Grundy gets fewer downpours than most Missouri counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 38.6 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 8.6 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 91st of 114. July, August and October see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.82 inches, June 25, 2021. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.51 inches (through June 27, 2021).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 84 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
Missouri's 114 counties range widely in housing age; Grundy ranks 4th, with 75% of its homes built before 1980.
Before 1960 is when 46% 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.
19% 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
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 54 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Grundy County homes break down as 34% utility gas, 33% electric, 21% propane and 10% wood. Wood heat is 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 Grundy County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Daviess, Harrison, Mercer and Sullivan get more pipe-freeze nights than Grundy. Linn County has the oldest housing nearby, with 76% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Grundy | Missouri median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 46% | 25% | 4 of 114 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 75% | 53% | 4 of 114 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 12% | 21% | 108 of 114 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 5.4% | 9.8% | 95 of 114 |
| Vacant homes | 19% | 15% | 39 of 114 |
| Wood or propane heat | 31% | 25% | 41 of 114 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 43/yr | 28/yr | 16 of 114 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.6/yr | 10/yr | 91 of 114 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 84/yr | 77/yr | 25 of 114 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 54/yr | 65/yr | 88 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 Grundy County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in July, August 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