McDonald County, Missouri · Pineville
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McDonald County averages 17 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 18% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 11.7 times a year here, most often in May. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which McDonald County gets about 11.7 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In McDonald County, 5.11 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
32% of occupied homes in McDonald 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 78 times a year in McDonald County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
With 9,828 homes and around 23,701 residents, McDonald County is 539 square miles of southwest Missouri. Besides Pineville, the county seat, the biggest communities are Anderson, Noel and Goodman. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1988.
39/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate McDonald County ranks 95 of 114 Missouri counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where McDonald County ranks highest compared with other Missouri counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Missouri, and pipes still freeze. It averaged 75 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 17 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 105th.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about -11°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 10 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
The freeze season here runs December to February, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 31 and end around Apr 2.
Rainfall is about average for Missouri. About 11.7 days a year bring an inch or more (39th of 114), most often in May, out of 49.6 inches of total precipitation. On December 27, 2015, 5.11 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 8.32 inches, ending December 28, 2015, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 68 days a year swing from below freezing at night to above freezing by day. Those freeze-thaw cycles feed ice dams on roofs, open cracks in foundations and driveways, and stress pipes that are already marginal.
Housing
Missouri's 114 counties range widely in housing age; McDonald ranks 99th, with 40% of its homes built before 1980.
27% of homes were built in 2000 or later, more than in most of Missouri. Newer plumbing rarely corrodes, so damage here tends to come from appliance supply lines, water heaters, sump pumps and storms.
About 34% 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.
Here 28% of housing is manufactured homes. Check the skirting and the heat tape on the main water line every fall, because that one exposed line is what freezes.
Renters occupy 33% of homes. If you rent, the building is usually the landlord's to repair, but your belongings are only covered by renters insurance.
Beyond water
McDonald County averages 78 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in May. 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 McDonald County it's 16% utility gas, 50% electric, 20% propane and 12% wood. Wood heat is more common here than the state median. Have chimneys swept and fuel-burning appliances serviced each fall, and keep three feet clear around stoves and space heaters.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across McDonald County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Barry gets more pipe-freeze nights than McDonald. Newton County has the oldest housing nearby, with 45% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | McDonald | Missouri median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 18% | 25% | 88 of 114 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 40% | 53% | 99 of 114 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 27% | 21% | 28 of 114 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 28% | 9.8% | 1 of 114 |
| Vacant homes | 13% | 15% | 76 of 114 |
| Wood or propane heat | 32% | 25% | 38 of 114 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 17/yr | 28/yr | 105 of 114 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 12/yr | 10/yr | 39 of 114 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 68/yr | 77/yr | 103 of 114 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 78/yr | 65/yr | 9 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 McDonald County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in May, 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