Marshall County, Kansas · Marysville
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With 51% of homes built before 1960 and about 48 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 8.7 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 Marshall County gets about 8.7 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Marshall County, 3.87 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
29% of occupied homes in Marshall County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
About 52 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
Marshall County covers 900 square miles of northeast Kansas, with about 9,993 residents and 4,751 homes. The county seat is Marysville, and Blue Rapids, Waterville and Frankfort round out the largest towns. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1959.
63/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Marshall County ranks 6 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Marshall County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Marshall County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Kansas. From 2015–2024 it averaged 48 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 128 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 25th of 105 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 14 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in January 2018. The coldest night reached about -21°F on February 16, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 21 and end around Apr 17.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Kansas. Of roughly 33 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 8.7 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 33rd of 105. May, June and July see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.87 inches, September 3, 2018. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.57 inches, ending September 5, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 104 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 74% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Marshall near the middle of Kansas's 105 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 51% predate 1960 and 12% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
Beyond water
About 52 nights a year in Marshall County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (63rd of 105 counties). May is the wettest month. 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, Marshall County homes break down as 53% utility gas, 17% 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 Marshall County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Marshall gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Washington County has the oldest housing nearby, with 80% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Marshall | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 51% | 48% | 44 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 74% | 74% | 52 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 12% | 11% | 44 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 5.3% | 5.6% | 57 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 12% | 15% | 70 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 29% | 17% | 16 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 48/yr | 39/yr | 25 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.7/yr | 6.8/yr | 33 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 104/yr | 97/yr | 43 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 52/yr | 59/yr | 63 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 Marshall 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