Clinton County, Pennsylvania · Lock Haven
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Clinton County averages 46 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 43% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in July. Clinton County averages 6.8 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Clinton County gets about 6.8 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 108 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
15% of occupied homes in Clinton County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Pennsylvania county median of 10%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 12 times a year in Clinton County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 37,798 people live in Clinton County, 890 square miles in central Pennsylvania, in roughly 18,617 homes. The county seat is Lock Haven, and Mill Hall, Dunnstown and Flemington round out the largest towns. The county's median home was built in 1967.
54/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Clinton County ranks 25 of 67 Pennsylvania counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Clinton County ranks highest compared with other Pennsylvania counties.
Clinton is on the colder side of Pennsylvania for pipes. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 46 nights a year at or below 20°F (16th of 67) and 138 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 14 days below freezing (ending January 2018), and the low bottomed out near -14°F on February 16, 2015.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs November to March. 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 18 and the last spring freeze around May 8.
Rainfall is about average for Pennsylvania. The county gets about 45 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 6.8 days of an inch or more (37th of 67). Those downpours cluster in July, September and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.78 inches on November 12, 2022. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.64 inches (through July 24, 2018).
About 108 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
70% of homes in Clinton County predate 1980, close to the Pennsylvania county median of 66%, which ranks 25th of Pennsylvania's 67 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 43% 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.
Here 8% of housing is manufactured homes. Check the skirting and the heat tape on the main water line every fall, because that one exposed line is what freezes.
The Census counted 17% of homes as vacant, above the Pennsylvania county median of 11.6%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
About 12 nights a year in Clinton County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (43rd of 67 counties). July is the wettest month. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Clinton County homes break down as 17% utility gas, 28% electric, 8% propane and 8% wood. Wood heat is above the Pennsylvania norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Clinton County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Cameron, Clearfield and Potter get more pipe-freeze nights than Clinton. Cameron County has the oldest housing nearby, with 76% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Clinton | Pennsylvania median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 43% | 42% | 31 of 67 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 70% | 66% | 25 of 67 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 13% | 13% | 34 of 67 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 8% | 6.6% | 29 of 67 |
| Vacant homes | 17% | 12% | 18 of 67 |
| Wood or propane heat | 15% | 10% | 23 of 67 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 46/yr | 37/yr | 16 of 67 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6.8/yr | 7/yr | 37 of 67 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 108/yr | 98/yr | 8 of 67 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 12/yr | 16/yr | 43 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 Clinton County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in July, 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