Ness County, Kansas · Ness City
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Ness County averages 47 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 51% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in August. Ness County averages 4.5 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Ness County gets about 4.5 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 111 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
37% of occupied homes in Ness County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
About 45 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 1,440 homes and around 2,653 residents, Ness County is 1,075 square miles of western Kansas. Besides Ness City, the county seat, the biggest communities are Bazine, Ransom and Utica. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1959.
50/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Ness County ranks 61 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Ness County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Ness is on the colder side of Kansas for pipes. 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 128 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 29th of 105 counties.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about -17°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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 24 and the last spring freeze around Apr 18.
Ness gets fewer downpours than most Kansas counties, but they still fill basements. About 4.5 days a year bring an inch or more (79th of 105), most often in August, out of 21.5 inches of total precipitation. On April 17, 2016, 2.76 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.32 inches (through April 18, 2016).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 111 times a year here. They're the main driver of ice dams and of water working its way through foundation cracks in late winter.
Housing
Kansas's 105 counties range widely in housing age; Ness ranks 15th, with 83% of its homes built before 1980.
The mix runs from 51% built before 1960 to 7% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
19% of homes were vacant at survey time. A leak in an empty rental or seasonal house can run for days before anyone notices, which is why those losses tend to be larger.
Beyond water
About 45 nights a year in Ness County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (75th of 105 counties). May is the wettest month. 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 Ness County it's 47% utility gas, 15% electric, 34% propane and 3% 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 Ness County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Ellis, Finney, Gove, Lane and Trego get more pipe-freeze nights than Ness. Rush County has the oldest housing nearby, with 87% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Ness | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 51% | 48% | 41 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 83% | 74% | 15 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 6.6% | 11% | 83 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 4.4% | 5.6% | 66 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 19% | 15% | 23 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 37% | 17% | 6 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 47/yr | 39/yr | 29 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 4.5/yr | 6.8/yr | 79 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 111/yr | 97/yr | 31 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 45/yr | 59/yr | 75 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 Ness County: freezing from November to March, 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