Greeley County, Kansas · Tribune
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With 39% of homes built before 1960 and about 60 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Basements flood here mostly in July. Greeley County averages 3.3 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Greeley County spike on heavy-rain days, about 3.3 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Greeley County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 2.02 inches, and about 132 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
22% of occupied homes in Greeley County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
About 13 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
Greeley County covers 778 square miles of western Kansas, with about 1,304 residents and 659 homes. Besides Tribune, the county seat, the biggest communities are Greeley County unified government (balance) and Horace. The county's median home was built in 1966.
42/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Greeley County ranks 78 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Greeley County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Greeley is on the colder side of Kansas for pipes. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 60 nights a year at or below 20°F (2nd of 105) and 149 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
The longest cold spell was straight 11 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -22°F on February 15, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 13 and the last spring freeze around Apr 24.
Greeley gets fewer downpours than most Kansas counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 19.1 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 3.3 days of an inch or more (92nd of 105). Those downpours cluster in May, July and August, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.02 inches on May 11, 2017. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 3.23 inches (through May 18, 2021).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 132 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
72% of homes in Greeley County predate 1980, close to the Kansas county median of 73.7%, which ranks 58th of Kansas's 105 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 39% of homes are pre-1960 and 9% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
Here 13% of housing is manufactured homes. Check the skirting and the heat tape on the main water line every fall, because that one exposed line is what freezes.
The Census counted 18% of homes as vacant, above the Kansas county median of 14.9%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
About 13 nights a year in Greeley County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (104th of 105 counties). May is the wettest month. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30 to 50%. Basements can pass 60% on their own in summer, so a dehumidifier matters even without a leak, and anything wet should be dried within 24 to 48 hours.
Mold remediation: what to expectMain heating fuel in Greeley County's occupied homes: 55% utility gas, 23% electric, 20% propane and 2% wood. Propane heat is above the Kansas norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Greeley County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Greeley gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Wichita County has the oldest housing nearby, with 87% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Greeley | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 39% | 48% | 72 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 72% | 74% | 58 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 8.6% | 11% | 74 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 13% | 5.6% | 8 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 18% | 15% | 32 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 22% | 17% | 38 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 60/yr | 39/yr | 2 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 3.3/yr | 6.8/yr | 92 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 132/yr | 97/yr | 1 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 13/yr | 59/yr | 104 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 Greeley County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in May, July and August.
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