Niagara County, New York · Lockport
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With 54% of homes built before 1960 and about 42 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
July brings the most downpours to Niagara County, part of 3.1 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
54% 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.
In Niagara County, 1.64 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
7% of occupied homes in Niagara 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 30 times a year in Niagara County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
With 100,446 homes and around 210,721 residents, Niagara County is 522 square miles of western New York. Besides Lockport, the county seat, the biggest communities are Niagara Falls, North Tonawanda and South Lockport. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1958.
41/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Niagara County ranks 45 of 57 New York counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Niagara County ranks highest compared with other New York counties.
Niagara County is milder than most of New York, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 42 nights a year at or below 20°F (50th of 57) and 118 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 32 days below freezing (ending March 2015), and the low bottomed out near -11°F on February 21, 2015.
The freeze season here runs November to March, 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 Nov 2 and the last spring freeze around May 1.
Niagara gets fewer downpours than most New York counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 33.9 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 3.1 days of an inch or more (56th of 57). Those downpours cluster in July, September and November, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 1.64 inches on April 7, 2017. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 2.69 inches (through July 18, 2021).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 80 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; Niagara ranks 10th, with 75% of its homes built before 1980.
Before 1960 is when 54% 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.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 30 times a year here, above the New York county median of 12. 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 Niagara County it's 76% utility gas, 12% electric, 6% propane and 1% 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 Niagara County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Every neighboring county gets more pipe-freeze nights than Niagara. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Genesee County has the oldest housing nearby, with 77% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Niagara | New York median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 54% | 45% | 13 of 57 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 75% | 67% | 10 of 57 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 9.5% | 13% | 48 of 57 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 4% | 7.6% | 44 of 57 |
| Vacant homes | 8.5% | 14% | 45 of 57 |
| Wood or propane heat | 6.6% | 19% | 48 of 57 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 42/yr | 55/yr | 50 of 57 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 3.1/yr | 6/yr | 56 of 57 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 80/yr | 101/yr | 55 of 57 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 30/yr | 12/yr | 6 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 Niagara County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in July, September and November.
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