Luzerne County, Pennsylvania · Wilkes-Barre
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With 50% of homes built before 1960 and about 46 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 9.6 times a year here, most often in April. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
50% 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 Luzerne County, 3.96 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 Luzerne County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Pennsylvania county median of 10%.
With 14 muggy nights a year, mold in Luzerne County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 151,287 homes and around 327,675 residents, Luzerne County is 890 square miles of eastern Pennsylvania. Besides Wilkes-Barre, the county seat, the biggest communities are Hazleton, Kingston and Mountain Top. The county's median home was built in 1960.
70/100 Water Damage Risk Index: High Luzerne County ranks 3 of 67 Pennsylvania counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Luzerne County ranks highest compared with other Pennsylvania counties.
Luzerne 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 134 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 15 days below freezing (ending January 2018), and the low bottomed out near -12°F on February 24, 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 Oct 22 and the last spring freeze around Apr 29.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Pennsylvania. About 9.6 days a year bring an inch or more (13th of 67), most often in April, out of 47.5 inches of total precipitation. On September 2, 2021, 3.96 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.99 inches (through July 26, 2018).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 102 days a year. Each cycle melts and refreezes water at roof edges and in foundation cracks, which is how ice dams and basement seepage get started.
Housing
Pennsylvania's 67 counties range widely in housing age; Luzerne ranks 14th, with 74% of its homes built before 1980.
50% were built before 1960. Homes from that era often still have galvanized steel supply pipe, which rusts from the inside until it pinholes, and cast iron drains that crack with age. Slow leaks behind walls are a common start to water damage in these houses.
Renters occupy 32% 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
Luzerne County averages 14 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in July. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Luzerne County's occupied homes: 50% utility gas, 24% electric, 5% propane and 1% 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 Luzerne County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Lackawanna, Monroe and Sullivan get more pipe-freeze nights than Luzerne. Schuylkill County has the oldest housing nearby, with 79% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Luzerne | Pennsylvania median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 50% | 42% | 19 of 67 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 74% | 66% | 14 of 67 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 10% | 13% | 51 of 67 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 3.2% | 6.6% | 55 of 67 |
| Vacant homes | 11% | 12% | 39 of 67 |
| Wood or propane heat | 6.5% | 10% | 52 of 67 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 46/yr | 37/yr | 16 of 67 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 9.6/yr | 7/yr | 13 of 67 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 102/yr | 98/yr | 19 of 67 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 14/yr | 16/yr | 40 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 Luzerne County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in April, July and September.
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