Greenwood County, Kansas · Eureka
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With 54% of homes built before 1960 and about 28 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Greenwood County averages 9.8 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
54% 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.
Greenwood County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 5.97 inches, and about 83 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
28% of occupied homes in Greenwood 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 72 times a year in Greenwood County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 5,919 people live in Greenwood County, 1,143 square miles in southeast Kansas, in roughly 3,666 homes. The county seat is Eureka, and Madison, Severy and Hamilton round out the largest towns. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1956.
60/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Greenwood County ranks 15 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Greenwood County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Kansas, and pipes still freeze. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 28 nights a year at or below 20°F (84th of 105) and 98 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
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 -15°F on February 16, 2021.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs December to February. 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 27 and end around Apr 8.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Kansas. About 9.8 days a year bring an inch or more (17th of 105), most often in May, out of 37.9 inches of total precipitation. On May 21, 2019, 5.97 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 7.08 inches, ending May 21, 2019, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 83 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; Greenwood ranks 52nd, with 74% of its homes built before 1980.
54% were built before 1960. Homes from that era often still have galvanized steel supply pipe, which rusts from the inside until it pinholes, and cast iron drains that crack with age. Slow leaks behind walls are a common start to water damage in these houses.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 7% 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.
With 27% of homes empty at survey time, landlords and seasonal owners should shut off the main or schedule checks in winter. An unheated vacant house is also where many policies limit freeze coverage.
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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Greenwood County it's 49% utility gas, 20% electric, 21% propane and 7% wood. Wood and propane heat are 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 Greenwood County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Butler, Chase and Lyon get more pipe-freeze nights than Greenwood. Woodson County has the oldest housing nearby, with 75% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Greenwood | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 54% | 48% | 29 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 74% | 74% | 52 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 13% | 11% | 38 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 7% | 5.6% | 40 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 27% | 15% | 4 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 28% | 17% | 18 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 28/yr | 39/yr | 84 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 9.8/yr | 6.8/yr | 17 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 83/yr | 97/yr | 82 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 Greenwood County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in May, July 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