Hamilton County, Nebraska · Aurora
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With 35% of homes built before 1960 and about 53 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
May brings the most downpours to Hamilton County, part of 5.6 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
35% of homes here predate 1960, when clay and cast iron sewer laterals were standard. Roots and cracks in those lines are a common cause of backups.
Hamilton County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.97 inches, and about 104 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
9% of occupied homes in Hamilton County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Nebraska county median of 19.4%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 38 times a year in Hamilton County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 9,464 people live in Hamilton County, 542 square miles in southeast Nebraska, in roughly 4,133 homes. The county seat is Aurora, and Hampton, Giltner and Phillips round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1973, half after.
40/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Hamilton County ranks 79 of 93 Nebraska counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Hamilton County ranks highest compared with other Nebraska counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Nebraska, and pipes still freeze. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 53 nights a year at or below 20°F (77th of 93) and 138 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
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.
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 22.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Nebraska. About 5.6 days a year bring an inch or more (25th of 93), most often in May, out of 27.7 inches of total precipitation. On March 14, 2021, 3.97 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.14 inches, ending March 16, 2021, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 104 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
65% of homes in Hamilton County predate 1980, below the Nebraska county median of 73.1%, which ranks 73rd of Nebraska's 93 counties.
Growth since 2000 added 17% of today's homes. In houses that new, the weak points are washing machine hoses, ice maker lines, water heaters and sump pumps rather than the pipes in the walls.
Beyond water
Hamilton County averages 38 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in May. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Hamilton County homes break down as 52% utility gas, 36% electric, 9% propane and under 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 Hamilton County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Adams, Hall, Merrick, Polk and York get more pipe-freeze nights than Hamilton. Clay County has the oldest housing nearby, with 78% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Hamilton | Nebraska median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 35% | 49% | 80 of 93 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 65% | 73% | 73 of 93 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 17% | 12% | 22 of 93 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 2.6% | 5% | 76 of 93 |
| Vacant homes | 12% | 14% | 60 of 93 |
| Wood or propane heat | 9.2% | 19% | 78 of 93 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 53/yr | 64/yr | 77 of 93 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.6/yr | 5.1/yr | 25 of 93 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 104/yr | 112/yr | 61 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 Hamilton 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