Iron County, Missouri · Ironton
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Pipes freeze in Iron County on about 30 nights a year, mostly November to February. Older homes, 28% of the stock here, are most at risk.
May brings the most downpours to Iron County, part of 12.3 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
28% 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.
Iron County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 4.79 inches, and about 88 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
22% of occupied homes in Iron County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Missouri county median of 24.5%.
About 42 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
Iron County covers 550 square miles of southeast Missouri, with about 9,446 residents and 4,682 homes. The county seat is Ironton, and Viburnum, Pilot Knob and Arcadia round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1974, half after.
56/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Iron County ranks 35 of 114 Missouri counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Iron County ranks highest compared with other Missouri counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Iron County sits near the middle of the state. From 2015–2024 it averaged 30 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 100 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 44th of 114 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 12 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -9°F on December 24, 2022. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 22 and end around Apr 15.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Missouri. The county gets about 50.6 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 12.3 days of an inch or more (24th of 114). Those downpours cluster in March, May and August, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 4.79 inches on April 30, 2017. The worst three-day stretch dropped 7.68 inches, ending May 1, 2017, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 88 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 62% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Iron among the oldest housing stocks of Missouri's 114 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 28% predate 1960 and 13% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
About 25% 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.
12% 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 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 42 times a year here, below the Missouri county median of 64.5. 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 Iron County it's 23% utility gas, 54% electric, 13% propane and 9% 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 Iron County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Iron gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Iron | Missouri median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 28% | 25% | 47 of 114 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 62% | 53% | 30 of 114 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 13% | 21% | 103 of 114 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 12% | 9.8% | 39 of 114 |
| Vacant homes | 18% | 15% | 48 of 114 |
| Wood or propane heat | 22% | 25% | 66 of 114 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 30/yr | 28/yr | 44 of 114 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 12/yr | 10/yr | 24 of 114 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 88/yr | 77/yr | 8 of 114 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 42/yr | 65/yr | 111 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 Iron County: freezing from November to February, heavy rain in March, 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