Rock County, Nebraska · Bassett
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With 41% of homes built before 1960 and about 74 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Basements flood here mostly in September. Rock County averages 3.9 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Rock County spike on heavy-rain days, about 3.9 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Rock County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 2.97 inches, and about 120 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
20% of occupied homes in Rock County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Nebraska county median of 19.4%.
About 10 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
About 1,319 people live in Rock County, 1,008 square miles in northern Nebraska, in roughly 809 homes. Bassett is the county seat; Newport is the next largest community. The county's median home was built in 1968.
45/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Rock County ranks 66 of 93 Nebraska counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Rock County ranks highest compared with other Nebraska counties.
Rock is on the colder side of Nebraska for pipes. From 2015–2024 it averaged 74 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 160 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 10th of 93 counties.
On February 15, 2021 the low fell to about -27°F, and in the stretch ending March 2019 the county went 23 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Most freezing nights fall from November to April, 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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 11 and the last spring freeze around May 7.
Rock gets fewer downpours than most Nebraska counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 25.4 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 3.9 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 63rd of 93. May, July and September see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.97 inches, April 30, 2022. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.16 inches (through October 14, 2023).
About 120 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; Rock ranks 37th, with 75% of its homes built before 1980.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 41% 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.
With 26% of homes empty at survey time, landlords and seasonal owners should shut off the main or schedule checks in winter. An unheated vacant house is also where many policies limit freeze coverage.
Beyond water
Rock County averages 10 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Rock County it's 29% utility gas, 51% electric, 17% propane and 4% wood. Wood heat is more common here than in most Nebraska counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Rock County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Rock gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Brown County has the oldest housing nearby, with 78% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Rock | Nebraska median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 41% | 49% | 70 of 93 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 75% | 73% | 37 of 93 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 7.7% | 12% | 76 of 93 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 6.7% | 5% | 30 of 93 |
| Vacant homes | 26% | 14% | 14 of 93 |
| Wood or propane heat | 20% | 19% | 45 of 93 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 74/yr | 64/yr | 10 of 93 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 3.9/yr | 5.1/yr | 63 of 93 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 120/yr | 112/yr | 35 of 93 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 10/yr | 27/yr | 69 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 Rock County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in May, July 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