Calhoun County, Arkansas · Hampton
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Pipes freeze in Calhoun County on about 4 nights a year, mostly January. Older homes, 14% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in April. Calhoun County averages 19.3 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Calhoun County spike on heavy-rain days, about 19.3 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 43 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
14% of occupied homes in Calhoun County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Arkansas county median of 10.9%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 113 times a year in Calhoun County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
With 2,466 homes and around 4,704 residents, Calhoun County is 629 square miles of southern Arkansas. Besides Hampton, the county seat, the biggest communities are Harrell, Thornton and Tinsman. Half the homes here were built before 1982, half after.
53/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Calhoun County ranks 32 of 75 Arkansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Calhoun County ranks highest compared with other Arkansas counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Arkansas, and pipes still freeze. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 4 nights a year at or below 20°F (53rd of 75) and 44 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 4 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near 7°F on February 17, 2021.
Most freezing nights fall from January, 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 Nov 12 and end around Mar 15.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Arkansas. About 19.3 days a year bring an inch or more (5th of 75), most often in April, out of 61.6 inches of total precipitation. On August 28, 2020, 6.06 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 8.2 inches, ending March 11, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 43 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
46% of homes in Calhoun County predate 1980, close to the Arkansas county median of 46%, which ranks 38th of Arkansas's 75 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 14% predate 1960 and 26% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 28% of the county's homes. If yours is from those decades, look under the sinks and at the water heater for gray plastic pipe stamped PB, which is polybutylene and leak-prone.
29% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, above the Arkansas county median of 15%. Their water lines run under the floor behind the skirting, so a torn skirt or failed heat tape freezes them faster than lines in a site-built house.
The Census counted 32% of homes as vacant, above the Arkansas county median of 18.1%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
Calhoun County averages 113 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in April. 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 Calhoun County it's 28% utility gas, 57% electric, 9% propane and 6% wood. Wood heat is 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 Calhoun County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Calhoun gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Ouachita County has the oldest housing nearby, with 62% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Calhoun | Arkansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 14% | 15% | 42 of 75 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 46% | 46% | 38 of 75 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 26% | 23% | 26 of 75 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 29% | 15% | 4 of 75 |
| Vacant homes | 32% | 18% | 5 of 75 |
| Wood or propane heat | 14% | 11% | 27 of 75 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 4/yr | 6/yr | 53 of 75 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 19/yr | 17/yr | 5 of 75 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 43/yr | 48/yr | 48 of 75 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 113/yr | 105/yr | 23 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 Calhoun County: freezing from January, heavy rain in January, March and April.
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