Reno County, Kansas · Hutchinson
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With 47% of homes built before 1960 and about 33 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 6.5 times a year here, most often in May. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Reno County gets about 6.5 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Reno County, 3.64 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
13% of occupied homes in Reno County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Kansas county median of 16.9%.
About 69 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 28,274 homes and around 61,553 residents, Reno County is 1,255 square miles of southern Kansas. Hutchinson is the county seat; South Hutchinson, Buhler and Haven are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1962, half after.
45/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Reno County ranks 70 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Reno County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Kansas, and pipes still freeze. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 33 nights a year at or below 20°F (74th of 105) and 110 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
The longest cold spell was straight 13 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -15°F on February 16, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs November 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.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 27 and end around Apr 10.
Rainfall is about average for Kansas. About 6.5 days a year bring an inch or more (56th of 105), most often in May, out of 29 inches of total precipitation. On May 8, 2019, 3.64 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.14 inches, ending October 10, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 94 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
75% of homes in Reno County predate 1980, close to the Kansas county median of 73.7%, which ranks 44th of Kansas's 105 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 47% predate 1960 and 11% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
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
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 69 times a year here, above the Kansas county median of 59. 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, Reno County homes break down as 65% utility gas, 21% electric, 10% propane and 2% wood. Heating equipment, cooking and electrical failures cause most home fires nationally. Even a small kitchen fire can leave soot through the whole house, because smoke follows air currents into closets, ducts and attic space.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Reno County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
McPherson, Pratt, Rice and Stafford get more pipe-freeze nights than Reno. Stafford County has the oldest housing nearby, with 83% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Reno | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 47% | 48% | 54 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 75% | 74% | 44 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 11% | 11% | 55 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 3.3% | 5.6% | 82 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 9.5% | 15% | 84 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 13% | 17% | 79 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 33/yr | 39/yr | 74 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6.5/yr | 6.8/yr | 56 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 94/yr | 97/yr | 60 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 69/yr | 59/yr | 34 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 Reno County: freezing from November to February, 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