Burt County, Nebraska · Tekamah
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Burt County averages 61 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 54% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 5.6 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 Burt County gets about 5.6 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 98 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
23% of occupied homes in Burt County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Nebraska county median of 19.4%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 37 times a year in Burt County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Burt County covers 492 square miles of eastern Nebraska, with about 6,740 residents and 3,333 homes. Tekamah is the county seat; Oakland, Lyons and Decatur are the next largest communities. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1956.
63/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Burt County ranks 7 of 93 Nebraska counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Burt County ranks highest compared with other Nebraska counties.
For frozen pipes, Burt County is a typical Nebraska county, which is still plenty. From 2015–2024 it averaged 61 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 139 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 55th of 93 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 32 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in March 2019. The coldest night reached about -25°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 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 18 and the last spring freeze around Apr 20.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Nebraska. The county gets about 30.3 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 5.6 days of an inch or more (25th of 93). Those downpours cluster in May, August and September, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.89 inches on August 20, 2018. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.21 inches (through September 25, 2015).
About 98 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
Roughly 75% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Burt near the middle of Nebraska's 93 counties.
Before 1960 is when 54% of these homes went up. Galvanized supply lines and cast iron drains were standard then, and after 60-plus years both corrode and crack, often out of sight inside a wall or under a slab.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 37 times a year here, above the Nebraska county median of 27. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30 to 50%. Basements can pass 60% on their own in summer, so a dehumidifier matters even without a leak, and anything wet should be dried within 24 to 48 hours.
Mold remediation: what to expectBy main heating fuel, Burt County homes break down as 45% utility gas, 26% electric, 21% propane and 2% wood. Propane heat is above the Nebraska norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Burt County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Cuming and Thurston get more pipe-freeze nights than Burt. Cuming County has the oldest housing nearby, with 75% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Burt | Nebraska median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 54% | 49% | 27 of 93 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 75% | 73% | 40 of 93 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 9.9% | 12% | 62 of 93 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 6.3% | 5% | 32 of 93 |
| Vacant homes | 12% | 14% | 61 of 93 |
| Wood or propane heat | 23% | 19% | 37 of 93 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 61/yr | 64/yr | 55 of 93 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.6/yr | 5.1/yr | 25 of 93 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 98/yr | 112/yr | 83 of 93 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 37/yr | 27/yr | 21 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 Burt County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in May, August and September.
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