Buffalo County, Nebraska · Kearney
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Buffalo County averages 59 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 24% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Buffalo County averages 5 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Buffalo County gets about 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 114 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
5% of occupied homes in Buffalo County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Nebraska county median of 19.4%.
About 25 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
Buffalo County covers 968 square miles of southern Nebraska, with about 50,579 residents and 21,286 homes. Kearney is the county seat; Gibbon, Shelton and Ravenna are the next largest communities. The county's median home was built in 1980.
29/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Buffalo County ranks 92 of 93 Nebraska counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Buffalo County ranks highest compared with other Nebraska counties.
For frozen pipes, Buffalo County is a typical Nebraska county, which is still plenty. From 2015–2024 it averaged 59 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 145 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 62nd of 93 counties.
On February 15, 2021 the low fell to about -24°F, and in the stretch ending March 2019 the county went 14 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 14 and the last spring freeze around Apr 30.
Rainfall is about average for Nebraska. Of roughly 26.1 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 5 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 48th of 93. April, May and July see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.16 inches, July 9, 2019. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.9 inches (through April 19, 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
Nebraska's 93 counties range widely in housing age; Buffalo ranks 90th, with 50% of its homes built before 1980.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 26% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 24% of the county's homes. If yours is from those decades, look under the sinks and at the water heater for gray plastic pipe stamped PB, which is polybutylene and leak-prone.
Renters occupy 34% 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
About 25 nights a year in Buffalo County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (51st of 93 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 expectMain heating fuel in Buffalo County's occupied homes: 53% utility gas, 42% electric, 4% propane and under 1% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Buffalo County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Custer, Dawson, Howard, Phelps and Sherman get more pipe-freeze nights than Buffalo. Kearney County has the oldest housing nearby, with 79% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Buffalo | Nebraska median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 24% | 49% | 92 of 93 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 50% | 73% | 90 of 93 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 26% | 12% | 4 of 93 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 5.6% | 5% | 38 of 93 |
| Vacant homes | 6.1% | 14% | 82 of 93 |
| Wood or propane heat | 4.8% | 19% | 88 of 93 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 59/yr | 64/yr | 62 of 93 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5/yr | 5.1/yr | 48 of 93 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 114/yr | 112/yr | 42 of 93 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 25/yr | 27/yr | 51 of 93 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Nebraska county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Buffalo County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in April, May and July.
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