Nemaha County, Kansas · Seneca
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Nemaha County averages 47 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 37% of its homes predate 1960.
May brings the most downpours to Nemaha County, part of 8.5 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Nemaha County gets about 8.5 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Nemaha County, 2.85 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
33% of occupied homes in Nemaha County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
About 51 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
With 4,512 homes and around 10,160 residents, Nemaha County is 717 square miles of northeast Kansas. Besides Seneca, the county seat, the biggest communities are Sabetha, Centralia and Wetmore. Half the homes here were built before 1974, half after.
51/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Nemaha County ranks 56 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Nemaha County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Nemaha County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Kansas. From 2015–2024 it averaged 47 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 126 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 29th 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 -22°F on February 16, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
Most freezing nights fall from November to March, peaking in January. Disconnect garden hoses and shut off outdoor spigots before the first hard frost, and keep the heat at 55°F or higher if you'll be away.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 23 and end around Apr 19.
Rainfall is about average for Kansas. Of roughly 33.5 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 8.5 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 39th of 105. May, June and August see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.85 inches, June 5, 2015. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.65 inches, ending June 6, 2015, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 101 days a year. Each cycle melts and refreezes water at roof edges and in foundation cracks, which is how ice dams and basement seepage get started.
Housing
Roughly 59% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Nemaha among the newer housing stocks of Kansas's 105 counties.
20% of homes were built in 2000 or later, more than in most of Kansas. Newer plumbing rarely corrodes, so damage here tends to come from appliance supply lines, water heaters, sump pumps and storms.
Beyond water
Nemaha County averages 51 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Nemaha County it's 48% utility gas, 18% electric, 29% propane and 4% 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 Nemaha 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 Nemaha. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Brown County has the oldest housing nearby, with 74% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Nemaha | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 37% | 48% | 76 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 59% | 74% | 88 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 20% | 11% | 13 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 3.5% | 5.6% | 79 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 11% | 15% | 74 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 33% | 17% | 9 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 47/yr | 39/yr | 29 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.5/yr | 6.8/yr | 39 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 101/yr | 97/yr | 46 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 51/yr | 59/yr | 65 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 Nemaha County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in May, June 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