Red Willow County, Nebraska · McCook
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Pipes freeze in Red Willow County on about 62 nights a year, mostly November to March. Older homes, 51% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Red Willow County averages 3.3 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Red Willow County spike on heavy-rain days, about 3.3 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 127 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
8% of occupied homes in Red Willow County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Nebraska county median of 19.4%.
With 24 muggy nights a year, mold in Red Willow County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
Red Willow County covers 717 square miles of southern Nebraska, with about 10,557 residents and 5,150 homes. McCook is the county seat; Indianola, Bartley and Danbury are the next largest communities. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1959.
44/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Red Willow County ranks 70 of 93 Nebraska counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Red Willow County ranks highest compared with other Nebraska counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Red Willow County sits near the middle of the state. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 62 nights a year at or below 20°F (52nd of 93) and 149 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
The longest cold spell was straight 13 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -24°F on February 15, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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 15 and end around Apr 27.
Red Willow gets fewer downpours than most Nebraska counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 20.8 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 3.3 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 69th of 93. May, June and September see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.82 inches, April 17, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.36 inches, ending April 18, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 127 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
Roughly 79% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Red Willow among the oldest housing stocks of Nebraska's 93 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 51% predate 1960 and 8% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
Beyond water
About 24 nights a year in Red Willow County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (53rd 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Red Willow County it's 55% utility gas, 33% electric, 7% propane and 1% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Red Willow County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Frontier and Furnas get more pipe-freeze nights than Red Willow. Furnas County has the oldest housing nearby, with 84% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Red Willow | Nebraska median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 51% | 49% | 38 of 93 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 79% | 73% | 26 of 93 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 8.4% | 12% | 68 of 93 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 4.2% | 5% | 55 of 93 |
| Vacant homes | 13% | 14% | 58 of 93 |
| Wood or propane heat | 8.4% | 19% | 81 of 93 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 62/yr | 64/yr | 52 of 93 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 3.3/yr | 5.1/yr | 69 of 93 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 127/yr | 112/yr | 26 of 93 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 24/yr | 27/yr | 53 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 Red Willow 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