Trego County, Kansas · WaKeeney
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With 46% of homes built before 1960 and about 48 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
August brings the most downpours to Trego County, part of 3.5 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in Trego County spike on heavy-rain days, about 3.5 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Trego County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.46 inches, and about 114 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
23% of occupied homes in Trego 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 43 times a year in Trego County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 2,777 people live in Trego County, 889 square miles in northwest Kansas, in roughly 1,709 homes. WaKeeney is the county seat; Collyer and Ogallah are the next largest communities. The county's median home was built in 1963.
43/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Trego County ranks 76 of 105 Kansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Trego County ranks highest compared with other Kansas counties.
Trego is on the colder side of Kansas for pipes. It averaged 133 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 48 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 105 Kansas counties that's 25th.
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.
The freeze season here runs November to March, 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 Oct 22 and the last spring freeze around Apr 18.
Trego gets fewer downpours than most Kansas counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 20.5 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 3.5 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 85th of 105. May, June and August see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.46 inches, May 29, 2018. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.3 inches (through April 18, 2016).
About 114 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 Trego County predate 1980, close to the Kansas county median of 73.7%, which ranks 41st of Kansas's 105 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 46% predate 1960 and 8% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
With 20% of homes empty at survey time, landlords and seasonal owners should shut off the main or schedule checks in winter. An unheated vacant house is also where many policies limit freeze coverage.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 43 times a year here, below the Kansas county median of 59. Mold grows when indoor humidity stays above about 60%, the EPA's ceiling. A basement dehumidifier set to 50% and drying anything wet within 24 to 48 hours prevents most problems.
Mold remediation: what to expectBy main heating fuel, Trego County homes break down as 53% utility gas, 23% electric, 22% propane and under 1% wood. Propane heat is more common here than the state median. Have chimneys swept and fuel-burning appliances serviced each fall, and keep three feet clear around stoves and space heaters.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Trego County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Gove and Graham get more pipe-freeze nights than Trego. Ness County has the oldest housing nearby, with 83% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Trego | Kansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 46% | 48% | 61 of 105 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 75% | 74% | 41 of 105 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 7.5% | 11% | 77 of 105 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 3.8% | 5.6% | 74 of 105 |
| Vacant homes | 20% | 15% | 22 of 105 |
| Wood or propane heat | 23% | 17% | 37 of 105 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 48/yr | 39/yr | 25 of 105 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 3.5/yr | 6.8/yr | 85 of 105 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 114/yr | 97/yr | 27 of 105 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 43/yr | 59/yr | 79 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 Trego 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