Clay County, Arkansas · Corning
Water spreading, a burst pipe, sewage, mold or smoke? Call to be connected with a restoration company that serves Piggott, Corning and Rector. 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.
Pipes freeze in Clay County on about 11 nights a year, mostly December to February. Older homes, 25% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 15.1 times a year here, most often in March. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Clay County gets about 15.1 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Clay County, 3.67 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
25% of occupied homes in Clay County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Arkansas county median of 10.9%.
With 95 muggy nights a year, mold in Clay County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 14,280 people live in Clay County, 639 square miles in northeast Arkansas, in roughly 7,492 homes. Corning is the county seat; Piggott, Rector and Greenway are the next largest communities. The county's median home was built in 1973.
64/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Clay County ranks 6 of 75 Arkansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Clay County ranks highest compared with other Arkansas counties.
Clay is on the colder side of Arkansas for pipes. It averaged 62 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 11 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 17th.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about -1°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.
Most freezing nights fall from December to February, 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 Nov 7 and the last spring freeze around Mar 26.
Clay gets fewer downpours than most Arkansas counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 54.7 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 15.1 days of an inch or more (57th of 75). Those downpours cluster in March, April and May, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.67 inches on April 30, 2017. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.72 inches (through August 16, 2016).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 55 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
Arkansas's 75 counties range widely in housing age; Clay ranks 2nd, with 66% of its homes built before 1980.
25% 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.
About 23% of homes went up between 1980 and 1999. Some houses from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s were plumbed with polybutylene, a gray plastic pipe known for failing at fittings. A plumber can tell you in a few minutes whether you have it.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 12% 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.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 95 times a year here, close to the Arkansas county median of 105. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Clay County homes break down as 43% utility gas, 32% electric, 21% propane and 4% wood. Propane heat is more common here than in most Arkansas counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Clay County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Randolph gets more pipe-freeze nights than Clay. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Clay | Arkansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 25% | 15% | 2 of 75 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 66% | 46% | 2 of 75 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 11% | 23% | 72 of 75 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 12% | 15% | 57 of 75 |
| Vacant homes | 20% | 18% | 30 of 75 |
| Wood or propane heat | 25% | 11% | 13 of 75 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 11/yr | 6/yr | 17 of 75 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 15/yr | 17/yr | 57 of 75 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 55/yr | 48/yr | 26 of 75 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 95/yr | 105/yr | 47 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 Clay County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in March, April and May.
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