Fillmore County, Nebraska · Geneva
Water spreading, a burst pipe, sewage, mold or smoke? Call to be connected with a restoration company that serves Geneva, Fairmont and Exeter. Start the steps below while you wait.
Answered 24/7 by a participating local provider. We're a referral service and don't do the work ourselves. How it works
Start here
Pick the closest match. These steps limit the damage and protect your insurance claim. Skip anything that isn't safe.
Pipes freeze in Fillmore County on about 52 nights a year, mostly November to March. Older homes, 51% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 5.4 times a year here, most often in May. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Sewage backups in Fillmore County spike on heavy-rain days, about 5.4 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 102 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
19% of occupied homes in Fillmore 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 38 times a year in Fillmore County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Fillmore County covers 575 square miles of southeast Nebraska, with about 5,541 residents and 2,724 homes. Geneva is the county seat; Fairmont, Exeter and Shickley are the next largest communities. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1959.
50/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Fillmore County ranks 45 of 93 Nebraska counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Fillmore 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 52 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 134 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 78th of 93 counties.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about -27°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 16 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
The freeze season here runs November to March, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 21 and end around Apr 21.
Rainfall is about average for Nebraska. Of roughly 27.4 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 5.4 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 32nd of 93. May, June and July see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.06 inches, March 14, 2021. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.58 inches, ending June 6, 2015, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 102 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; Fillmore ranks 32nd, with 78% of its homes built before 1980.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 51% predate 1960 and 11% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 38 times a year here, above the Nebraska county median of 27. Mold grows when indoor humidity stays above about 60%, the EPA's ceiling. A basement dehumidifier set to 50% and drying anything wet within 24 to 48 hours prevents most problems.
Mold remediation: what to expectMain heating fuel in Fillmore County's occupied homes: 46% utility gas, 33% electric, 17% 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 Fillmore County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Saline and York get more pipe-freeze nights than Fillmore. Nuckolls County has the oldest housing nearby, with 80% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Fillmore | Nebraska median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 51% | 49% | 38 of 93 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 78% | 73% | 32 of 93 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 11% | 12% | 50 of 93 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 1.8% | 5% | 81 of 93 |
| Vacant homes | 14% | 14% | 51 of 93 |
| Wood or propane heat | 19% | 19% | 48 of 93 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 52/yr | 64/yr | 78 of 93 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.4/yr | 5.1/yr | 32 of 93 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 102/yr | 112/yr | 64 of 93 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 38/yr | 27/yr | 17 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 Fillmore 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