Cherokee County, Kansas · Columbus
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With 45% of homes built before 1960 and about 18 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Cherokee County averages 12.1 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
45% 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.
Cherokee County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 4.15 inches, and about 71 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
16% of occupied homes in Cherokee County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
About 84 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
Cherokee County covers 588 square miles of southeast Kansas, with about 19,151 residents and 9,129 homes. Columbus is the county seat; Baxter Springs, Galena and Weir are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1966, half after.
52/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Cherokee County ranks 49 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Cherokee County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Kansas, and pipes still freeze. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 18 nights a year at or below 20°F (105th of 105) and 81 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
The longest cold spell was straight 13 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -12°F on February 16, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
The freeze season here runs December to February, 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 Nov 2 and end around Apr 6.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Kansas. About 12.1 days a year bring an inch or more (2nd of 105), most often in May, out of 46.1 inches of total precipitation. On May 21, 2019, 4.15 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 7.25 inches, ending May 23, 2019, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 71 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
67% of homes in Cherokee County predate 1980, below the Kansas county median of 73.7%, which ranks 69th of Kansas's 105 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 45% predate 1960 and 13% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
10% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, above the Kansas county median of 5.6%. 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.
Beyond water
Cherokee County averages 84 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in May. Keep indoor humidity under 60%, as the EPA advises, and dry any leak within 24 to 48 hours; in a humid month a wet basement left alone won't dry by itself.
Mold remediation: what to expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Cherokee County it's 46% utility gas, 36% electric, 11% propane and 5% wood. Wood 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 Cherokee County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Every neighboring county gets more pipe-freeze nights than Cherokee. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Labette County has the oldest housing nearby, with 76% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Cherokee | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 45% | 48% | 62 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 67% | 74% | 69 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 13% | 11% | 36 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 9.9% | 5.6% | 21 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 14% | 15% | 62 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 16% | 17% | 60 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 18/yr | 39/yr | 105 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 12/yr | 6.8/yr | 2 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 71/yr | 97/yr | 104 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 84/yr | 59/yr | 2 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 Cherokee County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in April, May 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