Sioux County, Nebraska · Harrison
Water spreading, a burst pipe, sewage, mold or smoke? Call to be connected with a restoration company that serves Harrison. Start the steps below while you wait.
Answered 24/7 by a participating local provider. We're a referral service and don't do the work ourselves. How it works
Start here
Pick the closest match. These steps limit the damage and protect your insurance claim. Skip anything that isn't safe.
With 54% of homes built before 1960 and about 88 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
May brings the most downpours to Sioux County, part of 1.1 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Sioux County gets about 1.1 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Sioux County, 2.03 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
75% of occupied homes in Sioux County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Nebraska county median of 19.4%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about once a year in Sioux County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 1,171 people live in Sioux County, 2,067 square miles in northwest Nebraska, in roughly 687 homes. Harrison is the county seat. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1956.
53/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Sioux County ranks 35 of 93 Nebraska counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Sioux County ranks highest compared with other Nebraska counties.
Sioux County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Nebraska. It averaged 184 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 88 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 1st.
On January 14, 2024 the low fell to about -27°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 13 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Most freezing nights fall from October 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.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 3 and end around May 12.
Sioux gets fewer downpours than most Nebraska counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 16.2 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 1.1 days of an inch or more (91st of 93). Those downpours cluster in April, May and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.03 inches on May 10, 2015. The worst three-day stretch dropped 3 inches, ending May 11, 2015, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 153 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
Nebraska's 93 counties range widely in housing age; Sioux ranks 50th, with 73% of its homes built before 1980.
Before 1960 is when 54% of these homes went up. Galvanized supply lines and cast iron drains were standard then, and after 60-plus years both corrode and crack, often out of sight inside a wall or under a slab.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 8% 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.
With 29% 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.
Renters occupy 40% of homes. If you rent, the building is usually the landlord's to repair, but your belongings are only covered by renters insurance.
Beyond water
About 1 night a year in Sioux County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (90th of 93 counties). May is the wettest month. Mold grows when indoor humidity stays above about 60%, the EPA's ceiling. A basement dehumidifier set to 50% and drying anything wet within 24 to 48 hours prevents most problems.
Mold remediation: what to expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Sioux County it's 5% utility gas, 16% electric, 60% propane and 15% 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 Sioux County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Sioux gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Box Butte County has the oldest housing nearby, with 79% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Sioux | Nebraska median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 54% | 49% | 26 of 93 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 73% | 73% | 50 of 93 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 14% | 12% | 34 of 93 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 7.9% | 5% | 20 of 93 |
| Vacant homes | 29% | 14% | 11 of 93 |
| Wood or propane heat | 75% | 19% | 2 of 93 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 88/yr | 64/yr | 1 of 93 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 1.1/yr | 5.1/yr | 91 of 93 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 153/yr | 112/yr | 2 of 93 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 1/yr | 27/yr | 90 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 Sioux County: freezing from October to April, heavy rain in April, May and October.
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