Webster County, Nebraska · Red Cloud
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Webster County averages 55 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 57% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 6.3 times a year here, most often in May. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Webster County gets about 6.3 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Webster County, 3.23 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
17% of occupied homes in Webster County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Nebraska county median of 19.4%.
With 36 muggy nights a year, mold in Webster County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
Webster County covers 575 square miles of southern Nebraska, with about 3,360 residents and 1,764 homes. Red Cloud is the county seat; Blue Hill, Guide Rock and Bladen are the next largest communities. It has some of the oldest housing in the state: the median home went up in 1951.
63/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Webster County ranks 10 of 93 Nebraska counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Webster County ranks highest compared with other Nebraska counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Nebraska, and pipes still freeze. It averaged 138 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 55 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 71st.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about -24°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.
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 20 and end around Apr 27.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Nebraska. The county gets about 26.8 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 6.3 days of an inch or more (13th of 93). Those downpours cluster in May, July and August, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.23 inches on March 14, 2021. The worst three-day stretch dropped 3.93 inches, ending March 16, 2021, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 112 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
80% of homes in Webster County predate 1980, above the Nebraska county median of 73.1%, which ranks 18th of Nebraska's 93 counties.
57% were built before 1960. Homes from that era often still have galvanized steel supply pipe, which rusts from the inside until it pinholes, and cast iron drains that crack with age. Slow leaks behind walls are a common start to water damage in these houses.
Beyond water
Webster County averages 36 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 Webster County it's 60% utility gas, 21% electric, 14% propane and 3% wood. Most homes here heat with gas or electricity, so cooking and electrical faults are the likelier fire sources. Even a contained kitchen fire can send soot through the ductwork to every room.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Webster County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Webster gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Franklin County has the oldest housing nearby, with 87% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Webster | Nebraska median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 57% | 49% | 20 of 93 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 80% | 73% | 18 of 93 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 12% | 12% | 48 of 93 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 2.2% | 5% | 79 of 93 |
| Vacant homes | 15% | 14% | 42 of 93 |
| Wood or propane heat | 17% | 19% | 58 of 93 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 55/yr | 64/yr | 71 of 93 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6.3/yr | 5.1/yr | 13 of 93 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 112/yr | 112/yr | 46 of 93 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 36/yr | 27/yr | 26 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 Webster County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in May, July 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