Keya Paha County, Nebraska · Springview
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Pipes freeze in Keya Paha County on about 74 nights a year, mostly November to April. Older homes, 43% of the stock here, are most at risk.
May brings the most downpours to Keya Paha County, part of 4.3 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in Keya Paha County spike on heavy-rain days, about 4.3 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Keya Paha County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.21 inches, and about 120 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
61% of occupied homes in Keya Paha County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Nebraska county median of 19.4%.
About 11 nights a year here stay at 65°F or warmer, so basements and crawl spaces can grow mold even without a leak.
Local risk profile
With 489 homes and around 822 residents, Keya Paha County is 773 square miles of northern Nebraska. Besides Springview, the county seat, the biggest community is Burton. The county's median home was built in 1967.
50/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Keya Paha County ranks 46 of 93 Nebraska counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Keya Paha County ranks highest compared with other Nebraska counties.
Keya Paha is on the colder side of Nebraska for pipes. It averaged 159 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 74 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 10th.
On February 15, 2021 the low fell to about -24°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.
The freeze season here runs November to April, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 11 and the last spring freeze around May 8.
Rainfall is about average for Nebraska. The county gets about 24.6 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 4.3 days of an inch or more (58th of 93). Those downpours cluster in April, May and June, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.21 inches on April 30, 2022. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.1 inches (through October 14, 2023).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 120 times a year here. They're the main driver of ice dams and of water working its way through foundation cracks in late winter.
Housing
Roughly 62% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Keya Paha among the newer housing stocks of Nebraska's 93 counties.
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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 9% of the housing here. Water lines in the underbelly depend on intact skirting and working heat tape, and they're usually the first to freeze in a cold snap.
38% of homes were vacant at survey time. A leak in an empty rental or seasonal house can run for days before anyone notices, which is why those losses tend to be larger.
Beyond water
About 11 nights a year in Keya Paha County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (66th of 93 counties). May is the wettest month. 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, Keya Paha County homes break down as 1% utility gas, 37% electric, 43% propane and 19% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than the state median. Have chimneys swept and fuel-burning appliances serviced each fall, and keep three feet clear around stoves and space heaters.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Keya Paha County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Cherry gets more pipe-freeze nights than Keya Paha. Boyd County has the oldest housing nearby, with 80% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Keya Paha | Nebraska median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 43% | 49% | 62 of 93 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 62% | 73% | 83 of 93 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 23% | 12% | 7 of 93 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 9.4% | 5% | 14 of 93 |
| Vacant homes | 38% | 14% | 3 of 93 |
| Wood or propane heat | 61% | 19% | 12 of 93 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 74/yr | 64/yr | 10 of 93 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 4.3/yr | 5.1/yr | 58 of 93 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 120/yr | 112/yr | 35 of 93 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 11/yr | 27/yr | 66 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 Keya Paha County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in April, May and June.
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