Linn County, Kansas · Mound City
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Linn County averages 25 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 25% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 11 times a year here, most often in May. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Linn County gets about 11 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 73 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
36% of occupied homes in Linn County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
About 76 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
About 9,767 people live in Linn County, 594 square miles in eastern Kansas, in roughly 5,222 homes. The county seat is Mound City, and Pleasanton, La Cygne and Linn Valley round out the largest towns. The county's median home was built in 1983.
41/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Linn County ranks 86 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Linn County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Linn County is milder than most of Kansas, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. From 2015–2024 it averaged 25 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 90 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 95th of 105 counties.
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 -12°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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 29 and the last spring freeze around Apr 8.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Kansas. About 11 days a year bring an inch or more (5th of 105), most often in May, out of 42.1 inches of total precipitation. On May 21, 2019, 3.7 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 6.47 inches (through April 28, 2024).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 73 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
46% of homes in Linn County predate 1980, below the Kansas county median of 73.7%, which ranks 98th of Kansas's 105 counties.
Growth since 2000 added 26% 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.
27% date from 1980 to 1999, the window when polybutylene, a gray flexible plastic supply pipe, was used in some homes. It's prone to leaks at the fittings, so it's worth checking for in a house from those years.
12% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, above the Kansas county median of 5.6%. Their water lines run under the floor behind the skirting, so a torn skirt or failed heat tape freezes them faster than lines in a site-built house.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 76 times a year here, above the Kansas county median of 59. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Linn County homes break down as 26% utility gas, 37% electric, 31% propane and 5% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than in most Kansas counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Linn County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Anderson and Miami get more pipe-freeze nights than Linn. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Bourbon County has the oldest housing nearby, with 73% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Linn | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 25% | 48% | 100 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 46% | 74% | 98 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 26% | 11% | 9 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 12% | 5.6% | 11 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 17% | 15% | 40 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 36% | 17% | 7 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 25/yr | 39/yr | 95 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 11/yr | 6.8/yr | 5 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 73/yr | 97/yr | 102 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 76/yr | 59/yr | 14 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 Linn County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in May, August and October.
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