Monroe County, Pennsylvania · Stroudsburg
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Monroe County averages 49 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 17% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 13.1 times a year here, most often in April. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Monroe County gets about 13.1 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Monroe County, 5.11 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
17% of occupied homes in Monroe County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Pennsylvania county median of 10%.
About 9 nights a year here stay at 65°F or warmer, so basements and crawl spaces can grow mold even without a leak.
Local risk profile
Monroe County covers 608 square miles of eastern Pennsylvania, with about 167,515 residents and 79,607 homes. Stroudsburg is the county seat; East Stroudsburg, Arlington Heights and Sierra View are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1984, half after.
53/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Monroe County ranks 27 of 67 Pennsylvania counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Monroe County ranks highest compared with other Pennsylvania counties.
Monroe County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Pennsylvania. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 49 nights a year at or below 20°F (11th of 67) and 138 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
The longest cold spell was straight 15 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in January 2018. The coldest night reached about -13°F on February 24, 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 Apr 28.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Pennsylvania. Of roughly 53.3 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 13.1 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 1st of 67. April, June and August see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 5.11 inches, September 2, 2021. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.6 inches, ending September 2, 2021, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 110 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
Roughly 39% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Monroe among the newer housing stocks of Pennsylvania's 67 counties.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 19% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
41% date from 1980 to 1999, the window when polybutylene, a gray flexible plastic supply pipe, was used in some homes. It's prone to leaks at the fittings, so it's worth checking for in a house from those years.
23% of homes were vacant at survey time. A leak in an empty rental or seasonal house can run for days before anyone notices, which is why those losses tend to be larger.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 9 times a year here, below the Pennsylvania county median of 16. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Monroe County it's 10% utility gas, 46% electric, 13% propane and 5% wood. Propane 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 Monroe County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Pike and Wayne get more pipe-freeze nights than Monroe. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Lackawanna County has the oldest housing nearby, with 76% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Monroe | Pennsylvania median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 17% | 42% | 66 of 67 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 39% | 66% | 66 of 67 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 19% | 13% | 11 of 67 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 3.4% | 6.6% | 53 of 67 |
| Vacant homes | 23% | 12% | 9 of 67 |
| Wood or propane heat | 17% | 10% | 20 of 67 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 49/yr | 37/yr | 11 of 67 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 13/yr | 7/yr | 1 of 67 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 110/yr | 98/yr | 2 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 Monroe 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