Crawford County, Wisconsin · Prairie du Chien
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With 32% of homes built before 1960 and about 63 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
September brings the most downpours to Crawford County, part of 9.1 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
32% 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.
Crawford County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.99 inches, and about 90 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
41% of occupied homes in Crawford County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Wisconsin county median of 32.9%.
With 22 muggy nights a year, mold in Crawford County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 16,042 people live in Crawford County, 571 square miles in southwest Wisconsin, in roughly 8,765 homes. The county seat is Prairie du Chien, and Wauzeka, Soldiers Grove and Gays Mills round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1978, half after.
61/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Crawford County ranks 12 of 72 Wisconsin counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Crawford County ranks highest compared with other Wisconsin counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Wisconsin, and pipes still freeze. From 2015–2024 it averaged 63 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 143 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 57th of 72 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 19 days below freezing (ending January 2018), and the low bottomed out near -32°F on January 31, 2019.
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.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 17 and end around May 2.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Wisconsin. The county gets about 39.6 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 9.1 days of an inch or more (2nd of 72). Those downpours cluster in June, July and September, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.99 inches on September 22, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.22 inches, ending September 23, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 90 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
54% of homes in Crawford County predate 1980, close to the Wisconsin county median of 54.1%, which ranks 41st of Wisconsin's 72 counties.
The mix runs from 32% built before 1960 to 21% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 26% of the county's homes. If yours is from those decades, look under the sinks and at the water heater for gray plastic pipe stamped PB, which is polybutylene and leak-prone.
14% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, above the Wisconsin county median of 4.8%. Their water lines run under the floor behind the skirting, so a torn skirt or failed heat tape freezes them faster than lines in a site-built house.
The Census counted 24% of homes as vacant, above the Wisconsin county median of 12%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
About 22 nights a year in Crawford County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (5th of 72 counties). September 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 Crawford County's occupied homes: 47% utility gas, 9% electric, 28% propane and 13% 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 Crawford County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Richland and Vernon get more pipe-freeze nights than Crawford. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Richland County has the oldest housing nearby, with 62% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Crawford | Wisconsin median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 32% | 31% | 33 of 72 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 54% | 54% | 41 of 72 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 21% | 21% | 40 of 72 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 14% | 4.8% | 3 of 72 |
| Vacant homes | 24% | 12% | 22 of 72 |
| Wood or propane heat | 41% | 33% | 24 of 72 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 63/yr | 73/yr | 57 of 72 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 9.1/yr | 6.3/yr | 2 of 72 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 90/yr | 94/yr | 59 of 72 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 22/yr | 11/yr | 5 of 72 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Wisconsin county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Crawford County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in June, 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