Monroe County, Wisconsin · Sparta
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Monroe County averages 78 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to April, and 31% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 8.8 times a year here, most often in August. 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 8.8 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Monroe County, 4.93 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
31% of occupied homes in Monroe County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Wisconsin county median of 32.9%.
About 10 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 901 square miles of central Wisconsin, with about 46,208 residents and 20,022 homes. Sparta is the county seat; Tomah, Cashton and Norwalk are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1980, half after.
63/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Monroe County ranks 10 of 72 Wisconsin counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Monroe County ranks highest compared with other Wisconsin counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Monroe County sits near the middle of the state. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 78 nights a year at or below 20°F (29th of 72) and 160 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
The longest cold spell was straight 24 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2019. The coldest night reached about -35°F on January 31, 2019. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 12 and end around May 10.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Wisconsin. Of roughly 38 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 8.8 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 5th of 72. June, July and August see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.93 inches, August 28, 2018. The worst three-day stretch dropped 7.12 inches, ending August 29, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 95 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 50% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Monroe among the newer housing stocks of Wisconsin's 72 counties.
The mix runs from 31% built before 1960 to 24% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
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.
Here 8% of housing is manufactured homes. Check the skirting and the heat tape on the main water line every fall, because that one exposed line is what freezes.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 10 times a year here, close to 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 Monroe County it's 47% utility gas, 17% electric, 24% propane and 7% wood. Heating equipment, cooking and electrical failures cause most home fires nationally. Even a small kitchen fire can leave soot through the whole house, because smoke follows air currents into closets, ducts and attic space.
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
Monroe gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Vernon County has the oldest housing nearby, with 58% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Monroe | Wisconsin median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 31% | 31% | 36 of 72 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 50% | 54% | 52 of 72 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 24% | 21% | 24 of 72 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 7.9% | 4.8% | 18 of 72 |
| Vacant homes | 8.6% | 12% | 43 of 72 |
| Wood or propane heat | 31% | 33% | 38 of 72 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 78/yr | 73/yr | 29 of 72 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.8/yr | 6.3/yr | 5 of 72 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 95/yr | 94/yr | 27 of 72 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 10/yr | 11/yr | 39 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 Monroe County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in June, July 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