Cuyahoga County, Ohio · Cleveland
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Cuyahoga County averages 30 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to March, and 56% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in June. Cuyahoga County averages 4.7 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Cuyahoga County gets about 4.7 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 70 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
2% of occupied homes in Cuyahoga County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Ohio county median of 15.9%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 42 times a year in Cuyahoga County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Cuyahoga County covers 457 square miles of northeast Ohio, with about 1,245,873 residents and 615,331 homes. Cleveland is the county seat; Parma, Lakewood and Euclid are the next largest communities. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1957.
61/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Cuyahoga County ranks 17 of 88 Ohio counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Cuyahoga County ranks highest compared with other Ohio counties.
For frozen pipes, Cuyahoga County is a typical Ohio county, which is still plenty. From 2015–2024 it averaged 30 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 96 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 49th of 88 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 19 days below freezing (ending March 2015), and the low bottomed out near -15°F on February 20, 2015.
The freeze season here runs December 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 7 and the last spring freeze around Apr 21.
Cuyahoga gets fewer downpours than most Ohio counties, but they still fill basements. About 4.7 days a year bring an inch or more (64th of 88), most often in June, out of 39.7 inches of total precipitation. On August 24, 2023, 2.63 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 3.22 inches (through August 26, 2023).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 70 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
80% of homes in Cuyahoga County predate 1980, above the Ohio county median of 61.1%, which ranks 1st of Ohio's 88 counties.
Before 1960 is when 56% 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.
Renters occupy 41% of homes. If you rent, the building is usually the landlord's to repair, but your belongings are only covered by renters insurance.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 42 times a year here, above the Ohio county median of 35. 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 Cuyahoga County it's 80% utility gas, 17% electric, 2% propane and under 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 Cuyahoga County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Geauga, Lorain, Medina and Summit get more pipe-freeze nights than Cuyahoga. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Cuyahoga | Ohio median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 56% | 37% | 1 of 88 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 80% | 61% | 1 of 88 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 7.9% | 17% | 86 of 88 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 0.5% | 5.9% | 88 of 88 |
| Vacant homes | 9.9% | 8.4% | 30 of 88 |
| Wood or propane heat | 1.6% | 16% | 87 of 88 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 30/yr | 31/yr | 49 of 88 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 4.7/yr | 5.7/yr | 64 of 88 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 70/yr | 82/yr | 86 of 88 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 42/yr | 35/yr | 16 of 88 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Ohio county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Cuyahoga County: freezing from December to March, 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