Jefferson County, Kansas · Oskaloosa
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With 26% of homes built before 1960 and about 36 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
May brings the most downpours to Jefferson County, part of 9.1 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
26% 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.
Jefferson County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 4.45 inches, and about 88 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
41% of occupied homes in Jefferson County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
With 68 muggy nights a year, mold in Jefferson County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 8,038 homes and around 18,349 residents, Jefferson County is 533 square miles of northeast Kansas. Besides Oskaloosa, the county seat, the biggest communities are Valley Falls, Perry and McLouth. Half the homes here were built before 1979, half after.
44/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Jefferson County ranks 72 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Jefferson County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Jefferson County sits near the middle of the state. It averaged 108 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 36 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 59th.
The longest cold spell was straight 14 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in January 2018. The coldest night reached about -17°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 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 25 and end around Apr 11.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Kansas. The county gets about 36.7 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 9.1 days of an inch or more (25th of 105). Those downpours cluster in May, June and August, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 4.45 inches on August 22, 2017. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.68 inches, ending June 23, 2019, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 88 days a year swing from below freezing at night to above freezing by day. Those freeze-thaw cycles feed ice dams on roofs, open cracks in foundations and driveways, and stress pipes that are already marginal.
Housing
52% of homes in Jefferson County predate 1980, below the Kansas county median of 73.7%, which ranks 96th of Kansas's 105 counties.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 20% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 28% 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 8% 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
Jefferson County averages 68 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in May. 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 Jefferson County it's 38% utility gas, 19% electric, 35% propane and 6% 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 Jefferson County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Atchison and Jackson get more pipe-freeze nights than Jefferson. Atchison County has the oldest housing nearby, with 72% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Jefferson | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 26% | 48% | 98 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 52% | 74% | 96 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 20% | 11% | 14 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 7.6% | 5.6% | 36 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 7.8% | 15% | 92 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 41% | 17% | 3 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 36/yr | 39/yr | 59 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 9.1/yr | 6.8/yr | 25 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 88/yr | 97/yr | 74 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 68/yr | 59/yr | 37 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 Jefferson County: freezing from November to February, heavy rain in May, June 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