Clarion County, Pennsylvania · Clarion
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With 43% of homes built before 1960 and about 45 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
June brings the most downpours to Clarion County, part of 5.4 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
43% 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.
Clarion County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 2.92 inches, and about 105 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
9% of occupied homes in Clarion County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Pennsylvania county median of 10%.
With 9 muggy nights a year, mold in Clarion County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 18,856 homes and around 37,179 residents, Clarion County is 601 square miles of western Pennsylvania. The county seat is Clarion, and Marianne, Rimersburg and Knox round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1967, half after.
41/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Clarion County ranks 52 of 67 Pennsylvania counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Clarion County ranks highest compared with other Pennsylvania counties.
Clarion County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Pennsylvania. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 45 nights a year at or below 20°F (23rd of 67) and 135 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
The longest cold spell was straight 17 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in March 2015. The coldest night reached about -18°F on February 20, 2015. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 20 and end around May 8.
Clarion gets fewer downpours than most Pennsylvania counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 46.9 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 5.4 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 62nd of 67. April, June and August see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.92 inches, September 10, 2018. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.19 inches, ending September 11, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 105 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
70% of homes in Clarion County predate 1980, close to the Pennsylvania county median of 66%, which ranks 27th of Pennsylvania's 67 counties.
The mix runs from 43% built before 1960 to 12% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 10% 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.
With 20% of homes empty at survey time, landlords and seasonal owners should shut off the main or schedule checks in winter. An unheated vacant house is also where many policies limit freeze coverage.
Beyond water
About 9 nights a year in Clarion County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (51st of 67 counties). June is the wettest month. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Clarion County's occupied homes: 71% utility gas, 13% electric, 5% propane and 4% wood. Most homes here heat with gas or electricity, so cooking and electrical faults are the likelier fire sources. Even a contained kitchen fire can send soot through the ductwork to every room.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Clarion County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Forest and Jefferson get more pipe-freeze nights than Clarion. Venango County has the oldest housing nearby, with 74% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Clarion | Pennsylvania median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 43% | 42% | 32 of 67 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 70% | 66% | 27 of 67 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 12% | 13% | 37 of 67 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 10% | 6.6% | 14 of 67 |
| Vacant homes | 20% | 12% | 15 of 67 |
| Wood or propane heat | 9.1% | 10% | 39 of 67 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 45/yr | 37/yr | 23 of 67 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.4/yr | 7/yr | 62 of 67 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 105/yr | 98/yr | 11 of 67 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 9/yr | 16/yr | 51 of 67 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Pennsylvania county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Clarion County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in April, June and August.
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