New Madrid County, Missouri · New Madrid
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Pipes freeze in New Madrid County on about 12 nights a year, mostly December to February. Older homes, 24% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in March. New Madrid County averages 13 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in New Madrid County spike on heavy-rain days, about 13 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 50 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
12% of occupied homes in New Madrid County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Missouri county median of 24.5%.
About 95 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
New Madrid County covers 675 square miles of southeast Missouri, with about 15,731 residents and 7,876 homes. New Madrid is the county seat; Portageville, Lilbourn and Morehouse are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1975, half after.
50/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated New Madrid County ranks 61 of 114 Missouri counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where New Madrid County ranks highest compared with other Missouri counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Missouri, and pipes still freeze. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 12 nights a year at or below 20°F (112th of 114) and 58 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On December 23, 2022 the low fell to about -2°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.
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 Nov 7 and end around Mar 24.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Missouri. About 13 days a year bring an inch or more (12th of 114), most often in March, out of 52.2 inches of total precipitation. On October 29, 2020, 3.1 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.08 inches, ending August 5, 2023, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 50 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
Roughly 62% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts New Madrid among the oldest housing stocks of Missouri's 114 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 24% predate 1960 and 12% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
26% 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.
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.
Renters occupy 36% 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
About 95 nights a year in New Madrid County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (3rd of 114 counties). March is the wettest month. 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 expectMain heating fuel in New Madrid County's occupied homes: 33% utility gas, 54% electric, 12% propane and under 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 New Madrid County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Mississippi, Scott and Stoddard get more pipe-freeze nights than New Madrid. Dunklin County has the oldest housing nearby, with 68% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | New Madrid | Missouri median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 24% | 25% | 66 of 114 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 62% | 53% | 31 of 114 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 12% | 21% | 107 of 114 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 12% | 9.8% | 39 of 114 |
| Vacant homes | 15% | 15% | 58 of 114 |
| Wood or propane heat | 12% | 25% | 97 of 114 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 12/yr | 28/yr | 112 of 114 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 13/yr | 10/yr | 12 of 114 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 50/yr | 77/yr | 112 of 114 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 95/yr | 65/yr | 3 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 New Madrid County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in January, February and March.
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