Dickinson County, Kansas · Abilene
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With 56% of homes built before 1960 and about 34 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Dickinson County averages 8.3 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
56% 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.
Dickinson County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 2.34 inches, and about 91 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
18% of occupied homes in Dickinson 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 72 times a year in Dickinson County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 18,445 people live in Dickinson County, 847 square miles in central Kansas, in roughly 8,789 homes. The county seat is Abilene, and Chapman, Solomon and Enterprise round out the largest towns. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1956.
61/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Dickinson County ranks 12 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Dickinson County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Dickinson County sits near the middle of the state. It averaged 109 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 34 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 69th.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 13 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -18°F on February 16, 2021.
Most freezing nights fall from November 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 26 and end around Apr 9.
Rainfall is about average for Kansas. Of roughly 32.2 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 8.3 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 41st of 105. May, June and July see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.34 inches, May 27, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.05 inches, ending May 26, 2022, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 91 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
Kansas's 105 counties range widely in housing age; Dickinson ranks 28th, with 77% of its homes built before 1980.
In Dickinson County 56% of homes are older than 1960. If yours is one of them and the plumbing has never been replaced, expect galvanized steel supply pipe and cast iron drain lines, the two materials most likely to fail quietly.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 72 times a year here, above the Kansas county median of 59. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Dickinson County homes break down as 64% utility gas, 18% electric, 15% propane and 3% 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 Dickinson County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Clay, Geary, Morris and Ottawa get more pipe-freeze nights than Dickinson. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Dickinson | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 56% | 48% | 21 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 77% | 74% | 28 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 12% | 11% | 47 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 2.7% | 5.6% | 92 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 8.8% | 15% | 89 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 18% | 17% | 53 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 34/yr | 39/yr | 69 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.3/yr | 6.8/yr | 41 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 91/yr | 97/yr | 67 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 72/yr | 59/yr | 24 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 Dickinson County: freezing from November to February, 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