Allen County, Kansas · Iola
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With 46% of homes built before 1960 and about 24 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 10.9 times a year here, most often in May. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Allen County gets about 10.9 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Allen County, 5.31 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
13% of occupied homes in Allen County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 76 times a year in Allen County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
With 6,077 homes and around 12,483 residents, Allen County is 500 square miles of southeast Kansas. Iola is the county seat; Humboldt, Gas and La Harpe are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1965, half after.
52/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Allen County ranks 48 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Allen County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Kansas, and pipes still freeze. It averaged 91 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 24 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 105 Kansas counties that's 97th.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 14 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -13°F on February 17, 2021.
Most freezing nights fall from December to February, peaking in January. Disconnect garden hoses and shut off outdoor spigots before the first hard frost, and keep the heat at 55°F or higher if you'll be away.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 29 and end around Apr 8.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Kansas. About 10.9 days a year bring an inch or more (6th of 105), most often in May, out of 43.5 inches of total precipitation. On June 26, 2021, 5.31 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 7.77 inches, ending April 28, 2024, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 76 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 72% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Allen near the middle of Kansas's 105 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 46% predate 1960 and 10% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
Here 10% 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.
18% of homes were vacant at survey time. A leak in an empty rental or seasonal house can run for days before anyone notices, which is why those losses tend to be larger.
Beyond water
About 76 nights a year in Allen County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (14th of 105 counties). May is the wettest month. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Allen County's occupied homes: 58% utility gas, 27% electric, 11% propane and 2% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Allen County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Anderson and Woodson get more pipe-freeze nights than Allen. Woodson County has the oldest housing nearby, with 75% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Allen | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 46% | 48% | 60 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 72% | 74% | 57 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 9.7% | 11% | 65 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 9.8% | 5.6% | 22 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 18% | 15% | 33 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 13% | 17% | 75 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 24/yr | 39/yr | 97 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 11/yr | 6.8/yr | 6 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 76/yr | 97/yr | 94 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 76/yr | 59/yr | 14 of 105 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Kansas county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Allen County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in May, August and October.
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