Barton County, Missouri · Lamar
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Pipes freeze in Barton County on about 22 nights a year, mostly December to February. Older homes, 35% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Barton County averages 12 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
35% of homes here predate 1960, when clay and cast iron sewer laterals were standard. Roots and cracks in those lines are a common cause of backups.
Barton County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 4.33 inches, and about 72 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
33% of occupied homes in Barton County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Missouri county median of 24.5%.
With 73 muggy nights a year, mold in Barton County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 11,690 people live in Barton County, 592 square miles in southwest Missouri, in roughly 5,285 homes. Besides Lamar, the county seat, the biggest communities are Liberal, Golden City and Mindenmines. Half the homes here were built before 1974, half after.
62/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Barton County ranks 12 of 114 Missouri counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Barton County ranks highest compared with other Missouri counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Missouri, and pipes still freeze. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 22 nights a year at or below 20°F (86th of 114) and 84 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 13 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -14°F on February 16, 2021.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs December 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 Nov 3 and end around Apr 8.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Missouri. About 12 days a year bring an inch or more (31st of 114), most often in May, out of 44.2 inches of total precipitation. On May 1, 2019, 4.33 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 7.11 inches, ending May 23, 2019, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 72 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
59% of homes in Barton County predate 1980, above the Missouri county median of 53%, which ranks 38th of Missouri's 114 counties.
35% were built before 1960. Homes from that era often still have galvanized steel supply pipe, which rusts from the inside until it pinholes, and cast iron drains that crack with age. Slow leaks behind walls are a common start to water damage in these houses.
24% date from 1980 to 1999, the window when polybutylene, a gray flexible plastic supply pipe, was used in some homes. It's prone to leaks at the fittings, so it's worth checking for in a house from those years.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 8% 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.
Renters occupy 32% 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 73 times a year here, above the Missouri county median of 64.5. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Barton County's occupied homes: 42% utility gas, 23% electric, 25% propane and 9% wood. Wood and propane heat are 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 Barton County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Barton gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Dade County has the oldest housing nearby, with 61% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Barton | Missouri median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 35% | 25% | 23 of 114 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 59% | 53% | 38 of 114 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 16% | 21% | 91 of 114 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 8.3% | 9.8% | 75 of 114 |
| Vacant homes | 16% | 15% | 55 of 114 |
| Wood or propane heat | 33% | 25% | 37 of 114 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 22/yr | 28/yr | 86 of 114 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 12/yr | 10/yr | 31 of 114 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 72/yr | 77/yr | 88 of 114 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 73/yr | 65/yr | 20 of 114 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Missouri county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Barton County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in April, May 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