Lewis County, New York · Lowville
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Pipes freeze in Lewis County on about 81 nights a year, mostly November to April. Older homes, 42% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in August. Lewis County averages 6.1 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
42% of homes here predate 1960, when clay and cast iron sewer laterals were standard. Roots and cracks in those lines are a common cause of backups.
Lewis County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.14 inches, and about 100 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
40% of occupied homes in Lewis County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the New York county median of 19%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 4 times a year in Lewis County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Lewis County covers 1,276 square miles of northern New York, with about 26,607 residents and 15,637 homes. The county seat is Lowville, and Port Leyden, Croghan and Copenhagen round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1972, half after.
52/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Lewis County ranks 29 of 57 New York counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Lewis County ranks highest compared with other New York counties.
Lewis County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of New York. From 2015–2024 it averaged 81 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 163 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 5th of 57 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 38 days below freezing (ending March 2015), and the low bottomed out near -28°F on February 4, 2023.
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 9 and end around May 11.
Rainfall is about average for New York. The county gets about 49.7 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 6.1 days of an inch or more (28th of 57). Those downpours cluster in July, August and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.14 inches on August 10, 2024. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.74 inches, ending October 23, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 100 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 58% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Lewis among the newer housing stocks of New York's 57 counties.
Growth since 2000 added 17% of today's homes. In houses that new, the weak points are washing machine hoses, ice maker lines, water heaters and sump pumps rather than the pipes in the walls.
About 25% of homes went up between 1980 and 1999. Some houses from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s were plumbed with polybutylene, a gray plastic pipe known for failing at fittings. A plumber can tell you in a few minutes whether you have it.
11% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, above the New York county median of 7.6%. 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.
The Census counted 29% of homes as vacant, above the New York county median of 13.9%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
Lewis County averages 4 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in August. 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, Lewis County homes break down as 18% utility gas, 9% electric, 22% propane and 19% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than in most New York counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Lewis County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Herkimer gets more pipe-freeze nights than Lewis. Oneida County has the oldest housing nearby, with 75% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Lewis | New York median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 42% | 45% | 39 of 57 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 58% | 67% | 50 of 57 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 17% | 13% | 7 of 57 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 11% | 7.6% | 13 of 57 |
| Vacant homes | 29% | 14% | 6 of 57 |
| Wood or propane heat | 40% | 19% | 2 of 57 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 81/yr | 55/yr | 5 of 57 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6.1/yr | 6/yr | 28 of 57 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 100/yr | 101/yr | 30 of 57 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 4/yr | 12/yr | 49 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 Lewis County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in July, August 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