Lewis County, Missouri · Monticello
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Pipes freeze in Lewis County on about 41 nights a year, mostly November to March. Older homes, 33% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in June. Lewis County averages 8.4 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
33% 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.
Lewis County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.43 inches, and about 83 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
28% of occupied homes in Lewis County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Missouri county median of 24.5%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 55 times a year in Lewis County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Lewis County covers 505 square miles of northern Missouri, with about 9,924 residents and 4,320 homes. The county seat is Monticello, and Canton, La Grange and La Belle round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1969, half after.
53/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Lewis County ranks 49 of 114 Missouri counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Lewis County ranks highest compared with other Missouri counties.
Lewis County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Missouri. From 2015–2024 it averaged 41 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 112 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 20th of 114 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 15 days below freezing (ending January 2018), and the low bottomed out near -16°F on January 15, 2024.
Most freezing nights fall from November to March, 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 28 and end around Apr 15.
Lewis gets fewer downpours than most Missouri counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 38.5 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 8.4 days of an inch or more (99th of 114). Those downpours cluster in June, July and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.43 inches on August 29, 2018. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.8 inches, ending April 29, 2024, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 83 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 67% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Lewis among the oldest housing stocks of Missouri's 114 counties.
In Lewis County 33% of homes are older than 1960. If yours is one of them and the plumbing has never been replaced, expect galvanized steel supply pipe and cast iron drain lines, the two materials most likely to fail quietly.
9% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, close to 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 26% 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
Lewis County averages 55 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in July. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30 to 50%. Basements can pass 60% on their own in summer, so a dehumidifier matters even without a leak, and anything wet should be dried within 24 to 48 hours.
Mold remediation: what to expectBy main heating fuel, Lewis County homes break down as 37% utility gas, 34% electric, 26% propane and 2% wood. Propane 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 Lewis County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Clark, Knox and Shelby get more pipe-freeze nights than Lewis. Knox County has the oldest housing nearby, with 72% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Lewis | Missouri median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 33% | 25% | 34 of 114 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 67% | 53% | 19 of 114 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 15% | 21% | 94 of 114 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 9.2% | 9.8% | 66 of 114 |
| Vacant homes | 26% | 15% | 16 of 114 |
| Wood or propane heat | 28% | 25% | 50 of 114 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 41/yr | 28/yr | 20 of 114 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.4/yr | 10/yr | 99 of 114 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 83/yr | 77/yr | 28 of 114 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 55/yr | 65/yr | 85 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 Lewis County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in June, July 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