Mitchell County, Kansas · Beloit
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With 52% of homes built before 1960 and about 44 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
May brings the most downpours to Mitchell County, part of 6.1 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
52% 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.
Mitchell County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 2.36 inches, and about 106 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
28% of occupied homes in Mitchell County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
About 50 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
Mitchell County covers 702 square miles of northern Kansas, with about 5,779 residents and 3,116 homes. Beloit is the county seat; Glen Elder, Cawker City and Tipton are the next largest communities. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1958.
53/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Mitchell County ranks 46 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Mitchell County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Mitchell County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Kansas. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 44 nights a year at or below 20°F (35th of 105) and 125 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about -18°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 13 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 November to March. 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 22 and end around Apr 18.
Rainfall is about average for Kansas. Of roughly 25.7 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 6.1 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 65th of 105. May, August and September see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.36 inches, June 20, 2018. The worst three-day stretch dropped 3.77 inches, ending September 4, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 106 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
77% of homes in Mitchell County predate 1980, close to the Kansas county median of 73.7%, which ranks 28th of Kansas's 105 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 52% of homes are pre-1960 and 10% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
Renters occupy 31% 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
Mitchell County averages 50 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, Mitchell County homes break down as 55% utility gas, 15% electric, 25% propane and 3% 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 Mitchell County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Jewell and Osborne get more pipe-freeze nights than Mitchell. Osborne County has the oldest housing nearby, with 87% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Mitchell | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 52% | 48% | 39 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 77% | 74% | 28 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 10% | 11% | 60 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 2.1% | 5.6% | 99 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 14% | 15% | 60 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 28% | 17% | 19 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 44/yr | 39/yr | 35 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6.1/yr | 6.8/yr | 65 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 106/yr | 97/yr | 38 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 50/yr | 59/yr | 69 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 Mitchell County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in May, August and September.
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