Lincoln County, Missouri · Troy
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Lincoln County averages 31 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to February, and 10% of its homes predate 1960.
July brings the most downpours to Lincoln County, part of 8.4 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
10% 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 Lincoln County, 4.14 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
14% of occupied homes in Lincoln County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Missouri county median of 24.5%.
With 63 muggy nights a year, mold in Lincoln County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 63,057 people live in Lincoln County, 627 square miles in eastern Missouri, in roughly 23,790 homes. Troy is the county seat; Moscow Mills, Elsberry and Winfield are the next largest communities. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1997.
31/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Lincoln County ranks 114 of 114 Missouri counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Lincoln County ranks highest compared with other Missouri counties.
For frozen pipes, Lincoln County is a typical Missouri county, which is still plenty. It averaged 96 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 31 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 40th.
The longest cold spell was straight 14 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in January 2018. The coldest night reached about -10°F on January 15, 2024. 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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 28 and the last spring freeze around Apr 10.
Lincoln gets fewer downpours than most Missouri counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 41.8 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 8.4 days of an inch or more (99th of 114). Those downpours cluster in April, June and July, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 4.14 inches on April 30, 2017. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 6.92 inches (through December 29, 2015).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 78 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
Roughly 26% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Lincoln among the newer housing stocks of Missouri's 114 counties.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 45% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
30% 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 14% 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 63 times a year here, close to 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Lincoln County it's 17% utility gas, 67% electric, 13% propane and 1% 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 Lincoln County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Pike gets more pipe-freeze nights than Lincoln. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Pike County has the oldest housing nearby, with 63% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Lincoln | Missouri median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 10% | 25% | 108 of 114 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 26% | 53% | 110 of 114 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 45% | 21% | 3 of 114 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 14% | 9.8% | 23 of 114 |
| Vacant homes | 4.1% | 15% | 112 of 114 |
| Wood or propane heat | 14% | 25% | 91 of 114 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 31/yr | 28/yr | 40 of 114 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.4/yr | 10/yr | 99 of 114 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 78/yr | 77/yr | 48 of 114 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 63/yr | 65/yr | 61 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 Lincoln County: freezing from November to February, heavy rain in April, 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