Cowley County, Kansas · Winfield
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Pipes freeze in Cowley County on about 26 nights a year, mostly December to February. Older homes, 49% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Cowley County averages 9.9 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Cowley County spike on heavy-rain days, about 9.9 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Cowley County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 6.39 inches, and about 83 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
12% of occupied homes in Cowley 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 77 times a year in Cowley County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 34,411 people live in Cowley County, 1,126 square miles in southeast Kansas, in roughly 15,682 homes. The county seat is Winfield, and Arkansas City, Udall and Burden round out the largest towns. The county's median home was built in 1961.
55/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Cowley County ranks 37 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Cowley County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Cowley County is milder than most of Kansas, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. It averaged 94 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 26 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 91st.
The longest cold spell was straight 12 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -15°F on February 16, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 28 and the last spring freeze around Apr 8.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Kansas. The county gets about 37.4 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 9.9 days of an inch or more (14th of 105). Those downpours cluster in May, June and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 6.39 inches on May 21, 2019. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 7.17 inches (through May 21, 2019).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 83 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
Roughly 70% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Cowley near the middle of Kansas's 105 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 49% 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 8% of the housing here. Water lines in the underbelly depend on intact skirting and working heat tape, and they're usually the first to freeze in a cold snap.
Renters occupy 32% of homes. If you rent, the building is usually the landlord's to repair, but your belongings are only covered by renters insurance.
Beyond water
About 77 nights a year in Cowley County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (13th of 105 counties). May is the wettest month. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Cowley County's occupied homes: 60% utility gas, 27% electric, 10% 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 Cowley County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Butler gets more pipe-freeze nights than Cowley. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Elk County has the oldest housing nearby, with 74% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Cowley | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 49% | 48% | 47 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 70% | 74% | 64 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 10% | 11% | 58 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 8.2% | 5.6% | 31 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 15% | 15% | 54 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 12% | 17% | 82 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 26/yr | 39/yr | 91 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 9.9/yr | 6.8/yr | 14 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 83/yr | 97/yr | 82 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 77/yr | 59/yr | 13 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 Cowley County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in May, June 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