Miami County, Kansas · Paola
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Miami County averages 28 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 10.2 times a year here, most often in May. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
25% 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.
In Miami County, 4.71 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
15% of occupied homes in Miami County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
With 74 muggy nights a year, mold in Miami County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
Miami County covers 576 square miles of eastern Kansas, with about 34,938 residents and 14,262 homes. Besides Paola, the county seat, the biggest communities are Louisburg, Osawatomie and Fontana. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1987.
42/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Miami County ranks 81 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Miami County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Miami County is milder than most of Kansas, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 28 nights a year at or below 20°F (84th of 105) and 94 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about -13°F, and in the stretch ending January 2018 the county went 15 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
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 26 and the last spring freeze around Apr 8.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Kansas. About 10.2 days a year bring an inch or more (9th of 105), most often in May, out of 40.4 inches of total precipitation. On August 22, 2017, 4.71 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 7.09 inches (through October 9, 2018).
About 76 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; Miami ranks 101st, with 43% of its homes built before 1980.
Growth since 2000 added 31% 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.
About 26% of homes went up between 1980 and 1999. Some houses from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s were plumbed with polybutylene, a gray plastic pipe known for failing at fittings. A plumber can tell you in a few minutes whether you have it.
Beyond water
Miami County averages 74 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Miami County homes break down as 35% utility gas, 49% electric, 13% propane and 2% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Miami County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Johnson gets more pipe-freeze nights than Miami. Franklin County has the oldest housing nearby, with 56% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Miami | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 25% | 48% | 99 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 43% | 74% | 101 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 31% | 11% | 7 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 4% | 5.6% | 70 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 3.7% | 15% | 104 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 15% | 17% | 63 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 28/yr | 39/yr | 84 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 10/yr | 6.8/yr | 9 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 76/yr | 97/yr | 94 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 74/yr | 59/yr | 19 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 Miami County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in May, June 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