Doniphan County, Kansas · Troy
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With 42% of homes built before 1960 and about 40 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 9 times a year here, most often in July. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
42% 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 Doniphan County, 6.06 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
29% of occupied homes in Doniphan County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 57 times a year in Doniphan County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 7,503 people live in Doniphan County, 393 square miles in northeast Kansas, in roughly 3,373 homes. The county seat is Troy, and Wathena, Highland and Elwood round out the largest towns. The county's median home was built in 1970.
53/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Doniphan County ranks 45 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Doniphan County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
For frozen pipes, Doniphan County is a typical Kansas county, which is still plenty. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 40 nights a year at or below 20°F (46th of 105) and 112 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 15 days below freezing (ending January 2018), and the low bottomed out near -19°F on February 16, 2021.
The freeze season here runs November 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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 23 and the last spring freeze around Apr 12.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Kansas. The county gets about 36.6 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 9 days of an inch or more (27th of 105). Those downpours cluster in May, June and July, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 6.06 inches on September 14, 2016. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 6.48 inches (through September 16, 2016).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 90 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 65% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Doniphan among the newer housing stocks of Kansas's 105 counties.
Growth since 2000 added 15% of today's homes. In houses that new, the weak points are washing machine hoses, ice maker lines, water heaters and sump pumps rather than the pipes in the walls.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 10% 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.
19% 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
About 57 nights a year in Doniphan County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (55th 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Doniphan County homes break down as 50% utility gas, 20% electric, 25% propane and 4% wood. Wood and propane heat are 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 Doniphan County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Brown gets more pipe-freeze nights than Doniphan. Brown County has the oldest housing nearby, with 74% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Doniphan | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 42% | 48% | 66 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 65% | 74% | 73 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 15% | 11% | 30 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 10% | 5.6% | 17 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 19% | 15% | 24 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 29% | 17% | 14 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 40/yr | 39/yr | 46 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 9/yr | 6.8/yr | 27 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 90/yr | 97/yr | 68 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 57/yr | 59/yr | 55 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 Doniphan 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