Kewaunee County, Wisconsin · Kewaunee
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Kewaunee County averages 64 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to April, and 41% of its homes predate 1960.
August brings the most downpours to Kewaunee County, part of 5.4 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
41% 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 Kewaunee County, 3.3 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
28% of occupied homes in Kewaunee County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Wisconsin county median of 32.9%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 8 times a year in Kewaunee County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Kewaunee County covers 342 square miles of eastern Wisconsin, with about 20,664 residents and 9,367 homes. Besides Kewaunee, the county seat, the biggest communities are Algoma, Luxemburg and Casco. The county's median home was built in 1970.
47/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Kewaunee County ranks 44 of 72 Wisconsin counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Kewaunee County ranks highest compared with other Wisconsin counties.
Kewaunee County is milder than most of Wisconsin, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. It averaged 147 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 64 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 72 Wisconsin counties that's 52nd.
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 -21°F on January 31, 2019.
The freeze season here runs November to April, 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 May 8.
Kewaunee gets fewer downpours than most Wisconsin counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 34.3 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 5.4 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 55th of 72. May, June and August see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.3 inches, October 23, 2020. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.19 inches (through August 29, 2018).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 92 times a year here. They're the main driver of ice dams and of water working its way through foundation cracks in late winter.
Housing
63% of homes in Kewaunee County predate 1980, above the Wisconsin county median of 54.1%, which ranks 12th of Wisconsin's 72 counties.
In Kewaunee County 41% of homes are older than 1960. If yours is one of them and the plumbing has never been replaced, expect galvanized steel supply pipe and cast iron drain lines, the two materials most likely to fail quietly.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 8 times a year here, below the Wisconsin county median of 11. 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 Kewaunee County it's 59% utility gas, 7% electric, 22% propane and 6% 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 Kewaunee County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Door gets more pipe-freeze nights than Kewaunee. Manitowoc County has the oldest housing nearby, with 69% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Kewaunee | Wisconsin median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 41% | 31% | 6 of 72 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 63% | 54% | 12 of 72 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 17% | 21% | 62 of 72 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 3.9% | 4.8% | 45 of 72 |
| Vacant homes | 11% | 12% | 39 of 72 |
| Wood or propane heat | 28% | 33% | 44 of 72 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 64/yr | 73/yr | 52 of 72 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.4/yr | 6.3/yr | 55 of 72 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 92/yr | 94/yr | 44 of 72 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 8/yr | 11/yr | 45 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 Kewaunee County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in May, 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