Saline County, Nebraska · Wilber
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Saline County averages 54 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 44% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 6.4 times a year here, most often in May. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Sewage backups in Saline County spike on heavy-rain days, about 6.4 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 102 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
16% of occupied homes in Saline County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Nebraska county median of 19.4%.
About 42 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 14,650 people live in Saline County, 574 square miles in southeast Nebraska, in roughly 5,799 homes. Besides Wilber, the county seat, the biggest communities are Crete, Friend and Dorchester. Half the homes here were built before 1964, half after.
53/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Saline County ranks 34 of 93 Nebraska counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Saline County ranks highest compared with other Nebraska counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Nebraska, and pipes still freeze. From 2015–2024 it averaged 54 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 134 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 73rd of 93 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 16 days below freezing (ending January 2018), and the low bottomed out near -28°F on February 16, 2021.
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 18 and end around Apr 21.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Nebraska. About 6.4 days a year bring an inch or more (10th of 93), most often in May, out of 29.8 inches of total precipitation. On May 7, 2015, 3.74 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.09 inches, ending June 5, 2015, 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; Saline ranks 39th, with 75% of its homes built before 1980.
Housing age is mixed: 44% of homes are pre-1960 and 11% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
Beyond water
Saline County averages 42 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in May. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Saline County homes break down as 47% utility gas, 35% electric, 13% propane and 3% 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 Saline County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Seward gets more pipe-freeze nights than Saline. Jefferson County has the oldest housing nearby, with 79% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Saline | Nebraska median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 44% | 49% | 55 of 93 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 75% | 73% | 39 of 93 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 11% | 12% | 57 of 93 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 4.4% | 5% | 53 of 93 |
| Vacant homes | 11% | 14% | 64 of 93 |
| Wood or propane heat | 16% | 19% | 63 of 93 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 54/yr | 64/yr | 73 of 93 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6.4/yr | 5.1/yr | 10 of 93 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 102/yr | 112/yr | 64 of 93 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 42/yr | 27/yr | 16 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 Saline 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