Sarpy County, Nebraska · Papillion
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Sarpy County averages 50 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 7% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Sarpy County averages 7.5 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Sarpy County gets about 7.5 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 92 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
2% of occupied homes in Sarpy 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 50 times a year in Sarpy County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 197,389 people live in Sarpy County, 238 square miles in eastern Nebraska, in roughly 76,780 homes. The county seat is Papillion, and Bellevue, La Vista and Chalco round out the largest towns. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1996.
40/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Sarpy County ranks 82 of 93 Nebraska counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Sarpy County ranks highest compared with other Nebraska counties.
Sarpy County is milder than most of Nebraska, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. From 2015–2024 it averaged 50 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 127 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 88th of 93 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 16 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in January 2018. The coldest night reached about -25°F on February 16, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
Most freezing nights fall from November to March, 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 20 and the last spring freeze around Apr 20.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Nebraska. About 7.5 days a year bring an inch or more (3rd of 93), most often in May, out of 32.5 inches of total precipitation. On August 31, 2021, 3.12 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 3.92 inches (through August 31, 2021).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 92 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
29% of homes in Sarpy County predate 1980, below the Nebraska county median of 73.1%, which ranks 93rd of Nebraska's 93 counties.
Growth since 2000 added 45% 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.
27% date from 1980 to 1999, the window when polybutylene, a gray flexible plastic supply pipe, was used in some homes. It's prone to leaks at the fittings, so it's worth checking for in a house from those years.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 50 times a year here, above the Nebraska county median of 27. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Sarpy County's occupied homes: 73% utility gas, 25% electric, 2% propane and under 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 Sarpy County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Every neighboring county gets more pipe-freeze nights than Sarpy. Saunders County has the oldest housing nearby, with 62% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Sarpy | Nebraska median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 7.4% | 49% | 93 of 93 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 29% | 73% | 93 of 93 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 45% | 12% | 1 of 93 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 0.9% | 5% | 92 of 93 |
| Vacant homes | 3.5% | 14% | 92 of 93 |
| Wood or propane heat | 2% | 19% | 92 of 93 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 50/yr | 64/yr | 88 of 93 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7.5/yr | 5.1/yr | 3 of 93 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 92/yr | 112/yr | 91 of 93 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 50/yr | 27/yr | 2 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 Sarpy County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in May, June and August.
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