Hodgeman County, Kansas · Jetmore
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Hodgeman County averages 44 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 54% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 5.4 times a year here, most often in July. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
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.
In Hodgeman County, 2.64 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
39% of occupied homes in Hodgeman County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
About 51 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 823 homes and around 1,652 residents, Hodgeman County is 860 square miles of western Kansas. The county seat is Jetmore, and Hanston is the other large town. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1957.
55/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Hodgeman County ranks 38 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Hodgeman County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Hodgeman is on the colder side of Kansas for pipes. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 44 nights a year at or below 20°F (35th of 105) and 125 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
The longest cold spell was straight 13 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -16°F on February 16, 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 23 and the last spring freeze around Apr 16.
Hodgeman gets fewer downpours than most Kansas counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 23.4 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 5.4 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 72nd of 105. May, July and August see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.64 inches, July 2, 2016. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.52 inches (through October 9, 2018).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 110 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
72% of homes in Hodgeman County predate 1980, close to the Kansas county median of 73.7%, which ranks 60th of Kansas's 105 counties.
In Hodgeman County 54% of homes are older than 1960. If yours is one of them and the plumbing has never been replaced, expect galvanized steel supply pipe and cast iron drain lines, the two materials most likely to fail quietly.
Beyond water
About 51 nights a year in Hodgeman County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (65th 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 Hodgeman County's occupied homes: 41% utility gas, 11% electric, 38% propane and under 1% 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 Hodgeman County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Finney, Gray and Ness get more pipe-freeze nights than Hodgeman. Edwards County has the oldest housing nearby, with 86% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Hodgeman | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 54% | 48% | 30 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 72% | 74% | 60 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 12% | 11% | 48 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 3.6% | 5.6% | 77 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 15% | 15% | 49 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 39% | 17% | 4 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 44/yr | 39/yr | 35 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.4/yr | 6.8/yr | 72 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 110/yr | 97/yr | 32 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 51/yr | 59/yr | 65 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 Hodgeman 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