Vernon County, Wisconsin · Viroqua
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With 38% of homes built before 1960 and about 70 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Basements flood here mostly in July. Vernon County averages 9.1 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
38% 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.
Vernon County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 4.92 inches, and about 93 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
50% of occupied homes in Vernon County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Wisconsin county median of 32.9%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 15 times a year in Vernon County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 31,049 people live in Vernon County, 792 square miles in southwest Wisconsin, in roughly 14,065 homes. The county seat is Viroqua, and Westby, Hillsboro and Coon Valley round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1974, half after.
70/100 Water Damage Risk Index: High Vernon County ranks 4 of 72 Wisconsin counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Vernon County ranks highest compared with other Wisconsin counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Vernon County sits near the middle of the state. It averaged 153 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 70 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 40th.
On January 31, 2019 the low fell to about -34°F, and in the stretch ending February 2019 the county went 24 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs November to April. 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 15 and end around May 5.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Wisconsin. Of roughly 39.6 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 9.1 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 2nd of 72. June, July and September see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.92 inches, September 22, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.2 inches, ending September 22, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 93 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
Roughly 58% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Vernon among the oldest housing stocks of Wisconsin's 72 counties.
In Vernon County 38% 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.
Here 9% 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
About 15 nights a year in Vernon County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (24th 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Vernon County homes break down as 34% utility gas, 12% electric, 34% propane and 16% wood. Wood and propane heat are above the Wisconsin norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Vernon County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Juneau and Monroe get more pipe-freeze nights than Vernon. Richland County has the oldest housing nearby, with 62% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Vernon | Wisconsin median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 38% | 31% | 18 of 72 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 58% | 54% | 24 of 72 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 23% | 21% | 30 of 72 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 9.4% | 4.8% | 8 of 72 |
| Vacant homes | 12% | 12% | 37 of 72 |
| Wood or propane heat | 50% | 33% | 15 of 72 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 70/yr | 73/yr | 40 of 72 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 9.1/yr | 6.3/yr | 2 of 72 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 93/yr | 94/yr | 38 of 72 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 15/yr | 11/yr | 24 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 Vernon County: freezing from November to April, 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