Gage County, Nebraska · Beatrice
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Gage County averages 50 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 49% of its homes predate 1960.
May brings the most downpours to Gage County, part of 6.2 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Gage County gets about 6.2 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Gage County, 2.63 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
12% of occupied homes in Gage County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Nebraska county median of 19.4%.
With 47 muggy nights a year, mold in Gage County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 10,399 homes and around 21,629 residents, Gage County is 851 square miles of southeast Nebraska. Besides Beatrice, the county seat, the biggest communities are Wymore, Adams and Cortland. Half the homes here were built before 1961, half after.
51/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Gage County ranks 43 of 93 Nebraska counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Gage County ranks highest compared with other Nebraska counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Nebraska, and pipes still freeze. It averaged 131 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 50 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 88th.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 15 days below freezing (ending January 2018), and the low bottomed out near -25°F on February 16, 2021.
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.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 20 and end around Apr 21.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Nebraska. The county gets about 31 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 6.2 days of an inch or more (14th of 93). Those downpours cluster in May, June and September, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.63 inches on June 5, 2015. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.28 inches, ending September 5, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 102 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; Gage ranks 43rd, with 74% of its homes built before 1980.
The mix runs from 49% built before 1960 to 11% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
Beyond water
Gage County averages 47 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in May. 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 Gage County's occupied homes: 46% utility gas, 40% electric, 11% propane and 1% 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 Gage County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Jefferson, Lancaster and Saline get more pipe-freeze nights than Gage. Pawnee County has the oldest housing nearby, with 81% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Gage | Nebraska median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 49% | 49% | 48 of 93 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 74% | 73% | 43 of 93 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 11% | 12% | 51 of 93 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 1% | 5% | 90 of 93 |
| Vacant homes | 10% | 14% | 67 of 93 |
| Wood or propane heat | 12% | 19% | 71 of 93 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 50/yr | 64/yr | 88 of 93 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6.2/yr | 5.1/yr | 14 of 93 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 102/yr | 112/yr | 64 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 Gage 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