Randolph County, Missouri · Huntsville
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Pipes freeze in Randolph County on about 34 nights a year, mostly November to February. Older homes, 34% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in June. Randolph County averages 8.6 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Randolph County spike on heavy-rain days, about 8.6 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 76 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
17% of occupied homes in Randolph County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Missouri county median of 24.5%.
With 63 muggy nights a year, mold in Randolph County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 10,862 homes and around 24,365 residents, Randolph County is 483 square miles of northern Missouri. Besides Huntsville, the county seat, the biggest communities are Moberly, Higbee and Cairo. Half the homes here were built before 1974, half after.
56/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Randolph County ranks 36 of 114 Missouri counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Randolph County ranks highest compared with other Missouri counties.
Randolph County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Missouri. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 34 nights a year at or below 20°F (32nd of 114) and 100 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
The longest cold spell was straight 15 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in January 2018. The coldest night reached about -14°F on January 15, 2024. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
The freeze season here runs November 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 27 and end around Apr 11.
Randolph gets fewer downpours than most Missouri counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 39.6 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 8.6 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 91st of 114. May, June and July see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.08 inches, June 25, 2021. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.44 inches, ending June 27, 2021, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 76 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 61% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Randolph among the oldest housing stocks of Missouri's 114 counties.
In Randolph County 34% 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.
Here 13% 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.
Beyond water
About 63 nights a year in Randolph County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (61st of 114 counties). July 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Randolph County homes break down as 32% utility gas, 49% electric, 13% propane and 4% 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 Randolph County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Chariton, Macon and Monroe get more pipe-freeze nights than Randolph. Chariton County has the oldest housing nearby, with 69% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Randolph | Missouri median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 34% | 25% | 30 of 114 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 61% | 53% | 36 of 114 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 20% | 21% | 68 of 114 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 13% | 9.8% | 33 of 114 |
| Vacant homes | 15% | 15% | 60 of 114 |
| Wood or propane heat | 17% | 25% | 82 of 114 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 34/yr | 28/yr | 32 of 114 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.6/yr | 10/yr | 91 of 114 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 76/yr | 77/yr | 61 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 Randolph County: freezing from November to February, heavy rain in May, 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