Brown County, Kansas · Hiawatha
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With 46% of homes built before 1960 and about 43 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 8.6 times a year here, most often in July. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Brown County gets about 8.6 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Brown County, 4.89 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
24% of occupied homes in Brown County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
About 55 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
About 9,343 people live in Brown County, 571 square miles in northeast Kansas, in roughly 4,478 homes. Besides Hiawatha, the county seat, the biggest communities are Horton, Everest and Fairview. Half the homes here were built before 1964, half after.
56/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Brown County ranks 26 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Brown County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Brown County sits near the middle of the state. From 2015–2024 it averaged 43 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 119 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 38th of 105 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 14 days below freezing (ending January 2018), and the low bottomed out near -21°F on February 16, 2021.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs November to March. 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 23 and end around Apr 14.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Kansas. The county gets about 35 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 8.6 days of an inch or more (35th of 105). Those downpours cluster in May, June and July, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 4.89 inches on September 14, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.32 inches, ending September 14, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 96 days a year swing from below freezing at night to above freezing by day. Those freeze-thaw cycles feed ice dams on roofs, open cracks in foundations and driveways, and stress pipes that are already marginal.
Housing
Kansas's 105 counties range widely in housing age; Brown ranks 47th, with 74% of its homes built before 1980.
The mix runs from 46% built before 1960 to 13% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
Beyond water
About 55 nights a year in Brown County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (59th 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 Brown County's occupied homes: 54% utility gas, 18% electric, 23% propane and 2% wood. Propane heat is more common here than the state median. Have chimneys swept and fuel-burning appliances serviced each fall, and keep three feet clear around stoves and space heaters.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Brown County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Nemaha gets more pipe-freeze nights than Brown. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Brown | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 46% | 48% | 59 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 74% | 74% | 47 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 13% | 11% | 43 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 2.6% | 5.6% | 93 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 15% | 15% | 49 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 24% | 17% | 30 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 43/yr | 39/yr | 38 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.6/yr | 6.8/yr | 35 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 96/yr | 97/yr | 54 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 55/yr | 59/yr | 59 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 Brown County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in May, June and July.
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