Madison County, New York · Wampsville
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Pipes freeze in Madison County on about 64 nights a year, mostly November to April. Older homes, 46% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 5.3 times a year here, most often in August. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Madison County gets about 5.3 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 98 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
22% of occupied homes in Madison County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the New York county median of 19%.
With 8 muggy nights a year, mold in Madison County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 67,328 people live in Madison County, 655 square miles in central New York, in roughly 30,730 homes. Wampsville is the county seat; Oneida, Chittenango and Canastota are the next largest communities. The county's median home was built in 1964.
56/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Madison County ranks 17 of 57 New York counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Madison County ranks highest compared with other New York counties.
Madison is on the colder side of New York for pipes. From 2015–2024 it averaged 64 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 149 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 15th of 57 counties.
On February 15, 2016 the low fell to about -23°F, and in the stretch ending March 2015 the county went 38 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs November to April. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 16 and the last spring freeze around May 9.
Rainfall is about average for New York. The county gets about 45.9 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 5.3 days of an inch or more (31st of 57). Those downpours cluster in July, August and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.75 inches on October 30, 2017. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.34 inches (through October 23, 2016).
About 98 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; Madison ranks 34th, with 66% of its homes built before 1980.
Housing age is mixed: 46% of homes are pre-1960 and 13% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 8% of the housing here. Water lines in the underbelly depend on intact skirting and working heat tape, and they're usually the first to freeze in a cold snap.
Beyond water
Madison County averages 8 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in August. 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 Madison County it's 41% utility gas, 15% electric, 17% propane and 6% 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 Madison County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Oneida and Otsego get more pipe-freeze nights than Madison. Oneida County has the oldest housing nearby, with 75% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Madison | New York median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 46% | 45% | 25 of 57 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 66% | 67% | 34 of 57 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 13% | 13% | 26 of 57 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 8% | 7.6% | 26 of 57 |
| Vacant homes | 15% | 14% | 26 of 57 |
| Wood or propane heat | 22% | 19% | 25 of 57 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 64/yr | 55/yr | 15 of 57 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.3/yr | 6/yr | 31 of 57 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 98/yr | 101/yr | 33 of 57 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 8/yr | 12/yr | 38 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 Madison 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