Saline County, Missouri · Marshall
Water spreading, a burst pipe, sewage, mold or smoke? Call to be connected with a restoration company that serves Marshall, Slater and Sweet Springs. Start the steps below while you wait.
Answered 24/7 by a participating local provider. We're a referral service and don't do the work ourselves. How it works
Start here
Pick the closest match. These steps limit the damage and protect your insurance claim. Skip anything that isn't safe.
Saline County averages 32 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to February, and 36% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 9.2 times a year here, most often in June. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Sewage backups in Saline County spike on heavy-rain days, about 9.2 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 77 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
15% of occupied homes in Saline County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Missouri county median of 24.5%.
About 68 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
About 23,231 people live in Saline County, 756 square miles in northern Missouri, in roughly 9,813 homes. Besides Marshall, the county seat, the biggest communities are Slater, Sweet Springs and Gilliam. Half the homes here were built before 1970, half after.
63/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Saline County ranks 10 of 114 Missouri counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Saline County ranks highest compared with other Missouri counties.
Saline County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Missouri. From 2015–2024 it averaged 32 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 98 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 37th of 114 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 14 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -11°F on January 15, 2024.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs November 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 Oct 29 and end around Apr 11.
Rainfall is about average for Missouri. About 9.2 days a year bring an inch or more (76th of 114), most often in June, out of 39.8 inches of total precipitation. On July 3, 2016, 5.4 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.9 inches, ending July 3, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 77 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; Saline ranks 15th, with 68% of its homes built before 1980.
Before 1960 is when 36% of these homes went up. Galvanized supply lines and cast iron drains were standard then, and after 60-plus years both corrode and crack, often out of sight inside a wall or under a slab.
Here 8% 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.
18% of homes were vacant at survey time. A leak in an empty rental or seasonal house can run for days before anyone notices, which is why those losses tend to be larger.
Beyond water
Saline County averages 68 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, Saline County homes break down as 54% utility gas, 30% electric, 14% propane and 2% 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 Saline County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Carroll and Chariton get more pipe-freeze nights than Saline. Carroll County has the oldest housing nearby, with 77% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Saline | Missouri median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 36% | 25% | 19 of 114 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 68% | 53% | 15 of 114 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 15% | 21% | 93 of 114 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 8.2% | 9.8% | 77 of 114 |
| Vacant homes | 18% | 15% | 46 of 114 |
| Wood or propane heat | 15% | 25% | 88 of 114 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 32/yr | 28/yr | 37 of 114 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 9.2/yr | 10/yr | 76 of 114 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 77/yr | 77/yr | 55 of 114 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 68/yr | 65/yr | 37 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 Saline County: freezing from November to February, heavy rain in June, July and August.
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