Graham County, Kansas · Hill City
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Pipes freeze in Graham County on about 52 nights a year, mostly November to March. Older homes, 56% of the stock here, are most at risk.
May brings the most downpours to Graham County, part of 3.5 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
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.
Graham County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.41 inches, and about 118 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
20% of occupied homes in Graham County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
About 36 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
With 1,415 homes and around 2,389 residents, Graham County is 899 square miles of northwest Kansas. Hill City is the county seat; Bogue, Morland and Nicodemus are the next largest communities. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1957.
56/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Graham County ranks 29 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Graham County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Graham County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Kansas. It averaged 137 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 52 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 18th.
On February 15, 2021 the low fell to about -20°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 13 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs November to March. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 22 and end around Apr 20.
Graham gets fewer downpours than most Kansas counties, but they still fill basements. About 3.5 days a year bring an inch or more (85th of 105), most often in May, out of 21.7 inches of total precipitation. On May 29, 2018, 3.41 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.37 inches, ending April 18, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 118 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
Roughly 80% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Graham among the oldest housing stocks of Kansas's 105 counties.
Before 1960 is when 56% 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.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 36 times a year here, below the Kansas county median of 59. 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 Graham County it's 64% utility gas, 14% electric, 18% propane and 2% wood. Propane 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 Graham County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Gove, Norton and Sheridan get more pipe-freeze nights than Graham. Rooks County has the oldest housing nearby, with 87% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Graham | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 56% | 48% | 22 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 80% | 74% | 24 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 3.3% | 11% | 105 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 4.5% | 5.6% | 63 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 16% | 15% | 47 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 20% | 17% | 44 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 52/yr | 39/yr | 18 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 3.5/yr | 6.8/yr | 85 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 118/yr | 97/yr | 19 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 36/yr | 59/yr | 86 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 Graham County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in May, August and September.
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