Lyon County, Kansas · Emporia
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Lyon County averages 32 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to February, and 37% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Lyon County averages 8.6 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Lyon County spike on heavy-rain days, about 8.6 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 85 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
13% of occupied homes in Lyon County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
With 64 muggy nights a year, mold in Lyon County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 32,186 people live in Lyon County, 847 square miles in eastern Kansas, in roughly 15,027 homes. Besides Emporia, the county seat, the biggest communities are Americus, Olpe and Hartford. Half the homes here were built before 1970, half after.
41/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Lyon County ranks 87 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Lyon County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Kansas, and pipes still freeze. From 2015–2024 it averaged 32 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 102 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 76th of 105 counties.
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 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 9.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Kansas. Of roughly 36.9 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 8.6 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 35th of 105. May, July and August see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.2 inches, October 11, 2021. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.58 inches, ending October 9, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 85 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
Roughly 69% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Lyon near the middle of Kansas's 105 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 37% of homes are pre-1960 and 13% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
Here 9% of housing is manufactured homes. Check the skirting and the heat tape on the main water line every fall, because that one exposed line is what freezes.
Renters occupy 42% of homes. If you rent, the building is usually the landlord's to repair, but your belongings are only covered by renters insurance.
Beyond water
Lyon County averages 64 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in May. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Lyon County it's 54% utility gas, 33% electric, 11% propane and 2% wood. Heating equipment, cooking and electrical failures cause most home fires nationally. Even a small kitchen fire can leave soot through the whole house, because smoke follows air currents into closets, ducts and attic space.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Lyon County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Chase, Morris and Wabaunsee get more pipe-freeze nights than Lyon. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Chase County has the oldest housing nearby, with 74% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Lyon | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 37% | 48% | 79 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 69% | 74% | 66 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 13% | 11% | 37 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 9.3% | 5.6% | 25 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 10% | 15% | 81 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 13% | 17% | 79 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 32/yr | 39/yr | 76 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.6/yr | 6.8/yr | 35 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 85/yr | 97/yr | 78 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 64/yr | 59/yr | 40 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 Lyon County: freezing from November to February, 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