Grant County, Wisconsin · Lancaster
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Grant County averages 62 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 35% of its homes predate 1960.
July brings the most downpours to Grant County, part of 8.8 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Grant County gets about 8.8 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Grant County, 3.07 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
32% of occupied homes in Grant County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Wisconsin county median of 32.9%.
About 23 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
About 51,770 people live in Grant County, 1,148 square miles in southwest Wisconsin, in roughly 22,332 homes. The county seat is Lancaster, and Platteville, Boscobel and Fennimore round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1973, half after.
63/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Grant County ranks 9 of 72 Wisconsin counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Grant County ranks highest compared with other Wisconsin counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Wisconsin, and pipes still freeze. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 62 nights a year at or below 20°F (58th of 72) and 145 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 17 days below freezing (ending February 2019), 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 16 and end around May 2.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Wisconsin. The county gets about 39.2 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 8.8 days of an inch or more (5th of 72). Those downpours cluster in July, August and September, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.07 inches on July 22, 2017. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.51 inches, ending July 22, 2017, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 94 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
61% of homes in Grant County predate 1980, above the Wisconsin county median of 54.1%, which ranks 20th of Wisconsin's 72 counties.
The mix runs from 35% built before 1960 to 19% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
Renters occupy 30% 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
About 23 nights a year in Grant County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (4th of 72 counties). July 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 Grant County's occupied homes: 45% utility gas, 16% electric, 24% propane and 8% 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 Grant County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Crawford, Iowa and Richland get more pipe-freeze nights than Grant. Lafayette County has the oldest housing nearby, with 67% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Grant | Wisconsin median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 35% | 31% | 25 of 72 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 61% | 54% | 20 of 72 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 19% | 21% | 50 of 72 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 4.9% | 4.8% | 35 of 72 |
| Vacant homes | 11% | 12% | 40 of 72 |
| Wood or propane heat | 32% | 33% | 37 of 72 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 62/yr | 73/yr | 58 of 72 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.8/yr | 6.3/yr | 5 of 72 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 94/yr | 94/yr | 31 of 72 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 23/yr | 11/yr | 4 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 Grant County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in July, August 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