Rusk County, Wisconsin · Ladysmith
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Rusk County averages 92 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to April, and 30% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in June. Rusk County averages 5.5 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Rusk County gets about 5.5 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 95 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
56% of occupied homes in Rusk County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Wisconsin county median of 32.9%.
About 4 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
With 8,663 homes and around 14,179 residents, Rusk County is 914 square miles of northwest Wisconsin. Besides Ladysmith, the county seat, the biggest communities are Bruce, Hawkins and Sheldon. The county's median home was built in 1977.
46/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Rusk County ranks 46 of 72 Wisconsin counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Rusk County ranks highest compared with other Wisconsin counties.
Rusk is on the colder side of Wisconsin for pipes. It averaged 171 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 92 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 16th.
The longest cold spell was straight 31 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in March 2019. The coldest night reached about -32°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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 6 and the last spring freeze around May 9.
Rusk gets fewer downpours than most Wisconsin counties, but they still fill basements. About 5.5 days a year bring an inch or more (49th of 72), most often in June, out of 33 inches of total precipitation. On June 12, 2017, 2.91 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.23 inches (through May 18, 2017).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 95 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
Wisconsin's 72 counties range widely in housing age; Rusk ranks 34th, with 55% of its homes built before 1980.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 30% predate 1960 and 20% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 25% 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.
8% 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.
With 27% of homes empty at survey time, landlords and seasonal owners should shut off the main or schedule checks in winter. An unheated vacant house is also where many policies limit freeze coverage.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 4 times a year here, below the Wisconsin county median of 11. 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 Rusk County's occupied homes: 30% utility gas, 10% electric, 43% propane and 13% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than in most Wisconsin counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Rusk County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Price, Sawyer and Taylor get more pipe-freeze nights than Rusk. Price County has the oldest housing nearby, with 57% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Rusk | Wisconsin median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 30% | 31% | 44 of 72 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 55% | 54% | 34 of 72 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 20% | 21% | 43 of 72 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 8.3% | 4.8% | 16 of 72 |
| Vacant homes | 27% | 12% | 20 of 72 |
| Wood or propane heat | 56% | 33% | 8 of 72 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 92/yr | 73/yr | 16 of 72 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.5/yr | 6.3/yr | 49 of 72 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 95/yr | 94/yr | 27 of 72 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 4/yr | 11/yr | 57 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 Rusk 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