Warren County, Missouri · Warrenton
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Pipes freeze in Warren County on about 29 nights a year, mostly November to February. Older homes, 8% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in August. Warren County averages 9.7 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Warren County spike on heavy-rain days, about 9.7 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Warren County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 5.19 inches, and about 78 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
14% of occupied homes in Warren County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Missouri county median of 24.5%.
About 60 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
With 16,161 homes and around 37,177 residents, Warren County is 429 square miles of eastern Missouri. Besides Warrenton, the county seat, the biggest communities are Wright City, Marthasville and Foristell. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1998.
34/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Warren County ranks 111 of 114 Missouri counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Warren County ranks highest compared with other Missouri counties.
For frozen pipes, Warren County is a typical Missouri county, which is still plenty. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 29 nights a year at or below 20°F (49th of 114) and 95 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
The longest cold spell was straight 14 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in January 2018. The coldest night reached about -9°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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 26 and the last spring freeze around Apr 12.
Rainfall is about average for Missouri. About 9.7 days a year bring an inch or more (66th of 114), most often in August, out of 43.3 inches of total precipitation. On December 27, 2015, 5.19 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 8.96 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
23% of homes in Warren County predate 1980, below the Missouri county median of 53%, which ranks 113th of Missouri's 114 counties.
47% 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.
31% 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.
10% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, close to 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.
Beyond water
About 60 nights a year in Warren County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (67th of 114 counties). July is the wettest month. 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 Warren County it's 14% utility gas, 71% electric, 10% propane and 3% 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 Warren County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Lincoln and Montgomery get more pipe-freeze nights than Warren. Gasconade County has the oldest housing nearby, with 57% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Warren | Missouri median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 8.1% | 25% | 109 of 114 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 23% | 53% | 113 of 114 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 47% | 21% | 2 of 114 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 10% | 9.8% | 55 of 114 |
| Vacant homes | 14% | 15% | 64 of 114 |
| Wood or propane heat | 14% | 25% | 92 of 114 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 29/yr | 28/yr | 49 of 114 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 9.7/yr | 10/yr | 66 of 114 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 78/yr | 77/yr | 48 of 114 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 60/yr | 65/yr | 67 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 Warren County: freezing from November to February, heavy rain in April, 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