Cedar County, Nebraska · Hartington
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With 46% of homes built before 1960 and about 70 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Basements flood here mostly in September. Cedar County averages 4.9 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Cedar County spike on heavy-rain days, about 4.9 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Cedar County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 2.85 inches, and about 99 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
27% of occupied homes in Cedar County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Nebraska county median of 19.4%.
With 27 muggy nights a year, mold in Cedar County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
Cedar County covers 740 square miles of northeast Nebraska, with about 8,315 residents and 3,899 homes. Besides Hartington, the county seat, the biggest communities are Laurel, Randolph and Coleridge. The county's median home was built in 1964.
53/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Cedar County ranks 33 of 93 Nebraska counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Cedar County ranks highest compared with other Nebraska counties.
Cedar is on the colder side of Nebraska for pipes. It averaged 147 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 70 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 93 Nebraska counties that's 23rd.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about -28°F, and in the stretch ending March 2019 the county went 22 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Most freezing nights fall from November to March, peaking in January. Disconnect garden hoses and shut off outdoor spigots before the first hard frost, and keep the heat at 55°F or higher if you'll be away.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 13 and the last spring freeze around Apr 27.
Rainfall is about average for Nebraska. Of roughly 27.4 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 4.9 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 52nd of 93. May, June and September see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.85 inches, June 21, 2018. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.1 inches (through September 25, 2015).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 99 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
70% of homes in Cedar County predate 1980, close to the Nebraska county median of 73.1%, which ranks 55th of Nebraska's 93 counties.
The mix runs from 46% built before 1960 to 15% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
Beyond water
About 27 nights a year in Cedar County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (46th of 93 counties). May is the wettest month. 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, Cedar County homes break down as 37% utility gas, 36% electric, 25% propane and 1% 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 Cedar County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Dixon and Wayne get more pipe-freeze nights than Cedar. Dixon County has the oldest housing nearby, with 81% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Cedar | Nebraska median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 46% | 49% | 53 of 93 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 70% | 73% | 55 of 93 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 15% | 12% | 28 of 93 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 2.5% | 5% | 77 of 93 |
| Vacant homes | 12% | 14% | 62 of 93 |
| Wood or propane heat | 27% | 19% | 32 of 93 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 70/yr | 64/yr | 23 of 93 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 4.9/yr | 5.1/yr | 52 of 93 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 99/yr | 112/yr | 80 of 93 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 27/yr | 27/yr | 46 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 Cedar County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in May, June 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