Cass County, Nebraska · Plattsmouth
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With 30% of homes built before 1960 and about 51 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 8.3 times a year here, most often in June. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Cass County gets about 8.3 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Cass County, 2.67 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
21% of occupied homes in Cass County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Nebraska county median of 19.4%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 47 times a year in Cass County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Cass County covers 557 square miles of southeast Nebraska, with about 27,161 residents and 11,875 homes. The county seat is Plattsmouth, and Beaver Lake, Louisville and Buccaneer Bay round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1977, half after.
43/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Cass County ranks 72 of 93 Nebraska counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Cass County ranks highest compared with other Nebraska counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Nebraska, and pipes still freeze. From 2015–2024 it averaged 51 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 128 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 81st of 93 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 16 days below freezing (ending January 2018), and the low bottomed out near -26°F on February 16, 2021.
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.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 20 and end around Apr 20.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Nebraska. Of roughly 33.1 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 8.3 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 1st of 93. May, June and July see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.67 inches, August 12, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 3.51 inches, ending September 5, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 94 days a year. Each cycle melts and refreezes water at roof edges and in foundation cracks, which is how ice dams and basement seepage get started.
Housing
Nebraska's 93 counties range widely in housing age; Cass ranks 88th, with 55% of its homes built before 1980.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 23% 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 23% 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.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 47 times a year here, above the Nebraska county median of 27. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Cass County it's 44% utility gas, 33% electric, 19% 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 Cass County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Lancaster and Saunders get more pipe-freeze nights than Cass. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Otoe County has the oldest housing nearby, with 63% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Cass | Nebraska median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 30% | 49% | 88 of 93 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 55% | 73% | 88 of 93 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 23% | 12% | 6 of 93 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 3.9% | 5% | 59 of 93 |
| Vacant homes | 8.8% | 14% | 72 of 93 |
| Wood or propane heat | 21% | 19% | 40 of 93 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 51/yr | 64/yr | 81 of 93 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.3/yr | 5.1/yr | 1 of 93 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 94/yr | 112/yr | 89 of 93 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 47/yr | 27/yr | 7 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 Cass County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in May, June 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