Montgomery County, New York · Fonda
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Pipes freeze in Montgomery County on about 60 nights a year, mostly November to April. Older homes, 65% of the stock here, are most at risk.
August brings the most downpours to Montgomery County, part of 6.5 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in Montgomery County spike on heavy-rain days, about 6.5 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Montgomery County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 2.7 inches, and about 108 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
15% of occupied homes in Montgomery County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the New York county median of 19%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 11 times a year in Montgomery County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Montgomery County covers 403 square miles of eastern New York, with about 49,528 residents and 22,981 homes. Fonda is the county seat; Amsterdam, Fort Plain and Canajoharie are the next largest communities. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1944.
70/100 Water Damage Risk Index: High Montgomery County ranks 5 of 57 New York counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Montgomery County ranks highest compared with other New York counties.
For frozen pipes, Montgomery County is a typical New York county, which is still plenty. It averaged 146 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 60 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 57 New York counties that's 20th.
The longest cold spell was straight 37 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in March 2015. The coldest night reached about -16°F on February 15, 2016. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 20 and the last spring freeze around May 2.
Rainfall is about average for New York. The county gets about 42.8 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 6.5 days of an inch or more (23rd of 57). Those downpours cluster in April, August and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.7 inches on September 30, 2015. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 3.27 inches (through August 10, 2024).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 108 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
New York's 57 counties range widely in housing age; Montgomery ranks 4th, with 78% of its homes built before 1980.
In Montgomery County 65% of homes are older than 1960. If yours is one of them and the plumbing has never been replaced, expect galvanized steel supply pipe and cast iron drain lines, the two materials most likely to fail quietly.
Beyond water
Montgomery County averages 11 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in August. Mold grows when indoor humidity stays above about 60%, the EPA's ceiling. A basement dehumidifier set to 50% and drying anything wet within 24 to 48 hours prevents most problems.
Mold remediation: what to expectBy main heating fuel, Montgomery County homes break down as 46% utility gas, 11% electric, 8% propane and 6% wood. Wood heat is 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 Montgomery County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Fulton, Herkimer, Otsego and Schoharie get more pipe-freeze nights than Montgomery. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Montgomery | New York median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 65% | 45% | 2 of 57 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 78% | 67% | 4 of 57 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 8.4% | 13% | 53 of 57 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 6.6% | 7.6% | 34 of 57 |
| Vacant homes | 15% | 14% | 25 of 57 |
| Wood or propane heat | 15% | 19% | 36 of 57 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 60/yr | 55/yr | 20 of 57 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6.5/yr | 6/yr | 23 of 57 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 108/yr | 101/yr | 6 of 57 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 11/yr | 12/yr | 30 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 Montgomery County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in April, 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