Osage County, Kansas · Lyndon
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Pipes freeze in Osage County on about 28 nights a year, mostly December to February. Older homes, 35% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Osage County averages 9.8 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Osage County spike on heavy-rain days, about 9.8 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Osage County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 4.2 inches, and about 79 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
29% of occupied homes in Osage County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 72 times a year in Osage County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Osage County covers 706 square miles of eastern Kansas, with about 15,744 residents and 7,337 homes. Lyndon is the county seat; Osage City, Carbondale and Overbrook are the next largest communities. The county's median home was built in 1974.
44/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Osage County ranks 73 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Osage County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Osage 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 96 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On February 17, 2021 the low fell to about -15°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.
The freeze season here runs December to February, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 2 and the last spring freeze around Apr 7.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Kansas. The county gets about 37.7 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 9.8 days of an inch or more (17th of 105). Those downpours cluster in May, July and August, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 4.2 inches on October 25, 2023. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.48 inches (through October 27, 2023).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 79 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
Roughly 61% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Osage among the newer housing stocks of Kansas's 105 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 35% predate 1960 and 14% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 9% of the housing here. Water lines in the underbelly depend on intact skirting and working heat tape, and they're usually the first to freeze in a cold snap.
Beyond water
About 72 nights a year in Osage County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (24th 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Osage County homes break down as 49% utility gas, 22% electric, 23% propane and 6% 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 Osage County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Lyon, Shawnee and Wabaunsee get more pipe-freeze nights than Osage. Lyon County has the oldest housing nearby, with 69% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Osage | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 35% | 48% | 83 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 61% | 74% | 83 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 14% | 11% | 34 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 8.5% | 5.6% | 29 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 12% | 15% | 67 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 29% | 17% | 15 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 28/yr | 39/yr | 84 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 9.8/yr | 6.8/yr | 17 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 79/yr | 97/yr | 90 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 72/yr | 59/yr | 24 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 Osage County: freezing from December to February, 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