Clark County, Kansas · Ashland
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With 68% of homes built before 1960 and about 35 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 4.9 times a year here, most often in May. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
68% 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.
In Clark County, 2.6 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
17% of occupied homes in Clark County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 64 times a year in Clark County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 1,974 people live in Clark County, 975 square miles in southwest Kansas, in roughly 1,039 homes. The county seat is Ashland, and Minneola and Englewood round out the largest towns. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1946.
56/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Clark County ranks 27 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Clark County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
For frozen pipes, Clark County is a typical Kansas county, which is still plenty. It averaged 116 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 35 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 63rd.
The longest cold spell was straight 12 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -12°F on December 19, 2016. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
The freeze season here runs November to March, 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 27 and the last spring freeze around Apr 9.
Clark gets fewer downpours than most Kansas counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 23.7 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 4.9 days of an inch or more (77th of 105). Those downpours cluster in April, May and July, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.6 inches on May 21, 2019. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 3.55 inches (through October 10, 2018).
About 105 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
Roughly 82% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Clark among the oldest housing stocks of Kansas's 105 counties.
Before 1960 is when 68% of these homes went up. Galvanized supply lines and cast iron drains were standard then, and after 60-plus years both corrode and crack, often out of sight inside a wall or under a slab.
24% 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
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 64 times a year here, close to the Kansas county median of 59. 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 Clark County's occupied homes: 72% utility gas, 11% electric, 16% propane and 1% wood. Heating equipment, cooking and electrical failures cause most home fires nationally. Even a small kitchen fire can leave soot through the whole house, because smoke follows air currents into closets, ducts and attic space.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Clark County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Ford, Kiowa and Meade get more pipe-freeze nights than Clark. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Comanche County has the oldest housing nearby, with 84% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Clark | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 68% | 48% | 3 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 82% | 74% | 19 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 5.9% | 11% | 87 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 2.1% | 5.6% | 99 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 24% | 15% | 13 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 17% | 17% | 58 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 35/yr | 39/yr | 63 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 4.9/yr | 6.8/yr | 77 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 105/yr | 97/yr | 41 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 64/yr | 59/yr | 40 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 Clark County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in April, May 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