Cayuga County, New York · Auburn
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With 52% of homes built before 1960 and about 49 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
October brings the most downpours to Cayuga County, part of 4.5 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Cayuga County gets about 4.5 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Cayuga County, 3.08 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
21% of occupied homes in Cayuga County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the New York county median of 19%.
About 16 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
Cayuga County covers 692 square miles of central New York, with about 75,102 residents and 36,829 homes. The county seat is Auburn, and Melrose Park, Weedsport and Moravia round out the largest towns. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1958.
49/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Cayuga County ranks 30 of 57 New York counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Cayuga County ranks highest compared with other New York counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Cayuga County sits near the middle of the state. From 2015–2024 it averaged 49 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 132 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 38th of 57 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 37 days below freezing (ending March 2015), and the low bottomed out near -17°F on February 14, 2016.
Most freezing nights fall from November to April, peaking in January. Disconnect garden hoses and shut off outdoor spigots before the first hard frost, and keep the heat at 55°F or higher if you'll be away.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 23 and end around May 5.
Cayuga gets fewer downpours than most New York counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 42.9 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 4.5 days of an inch or more (42nd of 57). Those downpours cluster in June, September and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.08 inches on October 21, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.96 inches, ending August 19, 2021, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 88 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
New York's 57 counties range widely in housing age; Cayuga ranks 17th, with 71% of its homes built before 1980.
Before 1960 is when 52% 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 9% 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
Cayuga County averages 16 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in October. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Cayuga County it's 48% utility gas, 15% electric, 15% propane and 6% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Cayuga County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Cortland, Jefferson, Onondaga, Oswego and Tompkins get more pipe-freeze nights than Cayuga. Cortland County has the oldest housing nearby, with 74% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Cayuga | New York median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 52% | 45% | 15 of 57 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 71% | 67% | 17 of 57 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 11% | 13% | 41 of 57 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 9.2% | 7.6% | 20 of 57 |
| Vacant homes | 14% | 14% | 27 of 57 |
| Wood or propane heat | 21% | 19% | 27 of 57 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 49/yr | 55/yr | 38 of 57 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 4.5/yr | 6/yr | 42 of 57 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 88/yr | 101/yr | 50 of 57 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 16/yr | 12/yr | 17 of 57 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest New York county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Cayuga County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in June, September 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