Gray County, Kansas · Cimarron
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Pipes freeze in Gray County on about 48 nights a year, mostly November to March. Older homes, 30% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in July. Gray County averages 5.2 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Gray County spike on heavy-rain days, about 5.2 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Gray County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 2.56 inches, and about 115 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
16% of occupied homes in Gray County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
About 44 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 2,354 homes and around 5,701 residents, Gray County is 869 square miles of southwest Kansas. Besides Cimarron, the county seat, the biggest communities are Montezuma, Copeland and Ingalls. The county's median home was built in 1976.
38/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Gray County ranks 96 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Gray County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Gray is on the colder side of Kansas for pipes. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 48 nights a year at or below 20°F (25th of 105) and 129 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 12 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -15°F on February 15, 2021.
Most freezing nights fall from November to March, 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 21 and the last spring freeze around Apr 16.
Gray gets fewer downpours than most Kansas counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 21.8 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 5.2 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 75th of 105. April, May and July see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.56 inches, October 22, 2015. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 3.94 inches (through July 3, 2016).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 115 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
Kansas's 105 counties range widely in housing age; Gray ranks 91st, with 58% of its homes built before 1980.
16% of homes were built in 2000 or later, more than in most of Kansas. Newer plumbing rarely corrodes, so damage here tends to come from appliance supply lines, water heaters, sump pumps and storms.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 26% of the county's homes. If yours is from those decades, look under the sinks and at the water heater for gray plastic pipe stamped PB, which is polybutylene and leak-prone.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 9% 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.
Beyond water
About 44 nights a year in Gray County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (77th of 105 counties). July 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Gray County it's 75% utility gas, 9% electric, 13% propane and 2% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Gray County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Finney and Haskell get more pipe-freeze nights than Gray. Meade County has the oldest housing nearby, with 83% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Gray | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 30% | 48% | 91 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 58% | 74% | 91 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 16% | 11% | 24 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 8.8% | 5.6% | 27 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 9.3% | 15% | 85 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 16% | 17% | 61 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 48/yr | 39/yr | 25 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.2/yr | 6.8/yr | 75 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 115/yr | 97/yr | 25 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 44/yr | 59/yr | 77 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 Gray 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