Union County, Pennsylvania · Lewisburg
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Union County averages 37 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 37% of its homes predate 1960.
July brings the most downpours to Union County, part of 7.3 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
37% 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 Union County, 3.12 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
15% of occupied homes in Union County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Pennsylvania county median of 10%.
With 25 muggy nights a year, mold in Union County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 16,205 homes and around 42,456 residents, Union County is 316 square miles of central Pennsylvania. The county seat is Lewisburg, and Mifflinburg, Linntown and Winfield round out the largest towns. The county's median home was built in 1974.
47/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Union County ranks 41 of 67 Pennsylvania counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Union County ranks highest compared with other Pennsylvania counties.
For frozen pipes, Union County is a typical Pennsylvania county, which is still plenty. It averaged 124 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 37 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 67 Pennsylvania counties that's 34th.
On February 16, 2015 the low fell to about -8°F, and in the stretch ending January 2018 the county went 14 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Most freezing nights fall from November to March, peaking in January. Disconnect garden hoses and shut off outdoor spigots before the first hard frost, and keep the heat at 55°F or higher if you'll be away.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 26 and the last spring freeze around Apr 28.
Rainfall is about average for Pennsylvania. The county gets about 43.8 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 7.3 days of an inch or more (28th of 67). Those downpours cluster in July, September and December, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.12 inches on September 2, 2021. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 6.41 inches (through July 24, 2018).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 100 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 58% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Union among the newer housing stocks of Pennsylvania's 67 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 37% of homes are pre-1960 and 15% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
27% 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 8% 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.
Beyond water
Union County averages 25 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in July. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Union County it's 11% utility gas, 39% electric, 8% propane and 7% wood. Wood heat is more common here than the state median. Have chimneys swept and fuel-burning appliances serviced each fall, and keep three feet clear around stoves and space heaters.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Union County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Centre, Clinton and Lycoming get more pipe-freeze nights than Union. Northumberland County has the oldest housing nearby, with 77% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Union | Pennsylvania median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 37% | 42% | 49 of 67 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 58% | 66% | 50 of 67 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 15% | 13% | 29 of 67 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 8.2% | 6.6% | 25 of 67 |
| Vacant homes | 10% | 12% | 40 of 67 |
| Wood or propane heat | 15% | 10% | 23 of 67 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 37/yr | 37/yr | 34 of 67 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7.3/yr | 7/yr | 28 of 67 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 100/yr | 98/yr | 25 of 67 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 25/yr | 16/yr | 23 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 Union County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in July, September and December.
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