Boone County, Arkansas · Harrison
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With 13% of homes built before 1960 and about 17 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
March brings the most downpours to Boone County, part of 13.6 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
13% of homes here predate 1960, when clay and cast iron sewer laterals were standard. Roots and cracks in those lines are a common cause of backups.
In Boone County, 4.58 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
20% of occupied homes in Boone County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Arkansas county median of 10.9%.
With 64 muggy nights a year, mold in Boone County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 38,138 people live in Boone County, 590 square miles in northwest Arkansas, in roughly 17,459 homes. Besides Harrison, the county seat, the biggest communities are Diamond City, Bergman and Bellefonte. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1985.
43/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Boone County ranks 53 of 75 Arkansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Boone County ranks highest compared with other Arkansas counties.
Boone is on the colder side of Arkansas for pipes. It averaged 76 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 17 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 75 Arkansas counties that's 2nd.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about -10°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 10 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 December to February. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 1 and the last spring freeze around Apr 4.
Boone gets fewer downpours than most Arkansas counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 49.8 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 13.6 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 71st of 75. March, May and October see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.58 inches, November 5, 2024. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 9.03 inches (through November 5, 2024).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 69 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
42% of homes in Boone County predate 1980, below the Arkansas county median of 46%, which ranks 50th of Arkansas's 75 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 13% of homes are pre-1960 and 23% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
35% 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.
Here 8% of housing is manufactured homes. Check the skirting and the heat tape on the main water line every fall, because that one exposed line is what freezes.
Beyond water
Boone County averages 64 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in May. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Boone County's occupied homes: 32% utility gas, 47% electric, 13% propane and 7% wood. Wood and propane heat are above the Arkansas norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Boone County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Boone gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Newton County has the oldest housing nearby, with 47% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Boone | Arkansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 13% | 15% | 45 of 75 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 42% | 46% | 50 of 75 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 23% | 23% | 39 of 75 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 8.4% | 15% | 67 of 75 |
| Vacant homes | 12% | 18% | 61 of 75 |
| Wood or propane heat | 20% | 11% | 17 of 75 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 17/yr | 6/yr | 2 of 75 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 14/yr | 17/yr | 71 of 75 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 69/yr | 48/yr | 3 of 75 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 64/yr | 105/yr | 73 of 75 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Arkansas county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Boone County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in March, 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