Kiowa County, Kansas · Greensburg
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Kiowa County averages 37 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 37% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Kiowa County averages 6.4 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Kiowa County gets about 6.4 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 101 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
27% of occupied homes in Kiowa County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
About 55 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 1,153 homes and around 2,422 residents, Kiowa County is 723 square miles of southern Kansas. Besides Greensburg, the county seat, the biggest communities are Haviland and Mullinville. The county's median home was built in 1973.
39/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Kiowa County ranks 93 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Kiowa County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
For frozen pipes, Kiowa County is a typical Kansas county, which is still plenty. It averaged 115 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 37 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 57th.
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 -14°F on December 18, 2016.
The freeze season here runs November to March, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 25 and the last spring freeze around Apr 11.
Rainfall is about average for Kansas. About 6.4 days a year bring an inch or more (57th of 105), most often in May, out of 25.7 inches of total precipitation. On April 17, 2016, 2.98 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.63 inches (through October 10, 2018).
About 101 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
Kansas's 105 counties range widely in housing age; Kiowa ranks 90th, with 58% of its homes built before 1980.
Growth since 2000 added 33% of today's homes. In houses that new, the weak points are washing machine hoses, ice maker lines, water heaters and sump pumps rather than the pipes in the walls.
With 17% 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
Kiowa County averages 55 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in May. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Kiowa County homes break down as 48% utility gas, 24% electric, 26% 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 Kiowa County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Edwards and Ford get more pipe-freeze nights than Kiowa. Edwards County has the oldest housing nearby, with 86% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Kiowa | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 37% | 48% | 78 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 58% | 74% | 90 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 33% | 11% | 3 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 6.3% | 5.6% | 48 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 17% | 15% | 36 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 27% | 17% | 22 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 37/yr | 39/yr | 57 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6.4/yr | 6.8/yr | 57 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 101/yr | 97/yr | 46 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 55/yr | 59/yr | 59 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 Kiowa County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in May, June 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