Henry County, Missouri · Clinton
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With 28% of homes built before 1960 and about 27 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Henry County averages 10.5 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Henry County spike on heavy-rain days, about 10.5 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Henry County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.45 inches, and about 77 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
18% of occupied homes in Henry County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Missouri county median of 24.5%.
With 74 muggy nights a year, mold in Henry County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 22,328 people live in Henry County, 697 square miles in western Missouri, in roughly 10,714 homes. The county seat is Clinton, and Windsor, Urich and Montrose round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1978, half after.
58/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Henry County ranks 30 of 114 Missouri counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Henry County ranks highest compared with other Missouri counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Henry County sits near the middle of the state. It averaged 92 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 27 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 59th.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about -12°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 13 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs December to February. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 28 and end around Apr 9.
Rainfall is about average for Missouri. The county gets about 42.2 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 10.5 days of an inch or more (52nd of 114). Those downpours cluster in May, June and July, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.45 inches on April 30, 2017. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.6 inches, ending April 28, 2024, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 77 days a year. Each cycle melts and refreezes water at roof edges and in foundation cracks, which is how ice dams and basement seepage get started.
Housing
Missouri's 114 counties range widely in housing age; Henry ranks 60th, with 53% of its homes built before 1980.
Housing age is mixed: 28% of homes are pre-1960 and 22% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
About 26% of homes went up between 1980 and 1999. Some houses from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s were plumbed with polybutylene, a gray plastic pipe known for failing at fittings. A plumber can tell you in a few minutes whether you have it.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 10% 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.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 74 times a year here, above 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 Henry County's occupied homes: 29% utility gas, 52% electric, 13% propane and 5% wood. Heating equipment, cooking and electrical failures cause most home fires nationally. Even a small kitchen fire can leave soot through the whole house, because smoke follows air currents into closets, ducts and attic space.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Henry County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Cass, Johnson and Pettis get more pipe-freeze nights than Henry. Pettis County has the oldest housing nearby, with 59% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Henry | Missouri median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 28% | 25% | 48 of 114 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 53% | 53% | 60 of 114 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 22% | 21% | 56 of 114 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 10% | 9.8% | 55 of 114 |
| Vacant homes | 14% | 15% | 68 of 114 |
| Wood or propane heat | 18% | 25% | 77 of 114 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 27/yr | 28/yr | 59 of 114 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 11/yr | 10/yr | 52 of 114 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 77/yr | 77/yr | 55 of 114 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 74/yr | 65/yr | 18 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 Henry County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in May, June and July.
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