Cleveland County, Arkansas · Rison
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Cleveland County averages 4 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly January, and 9% of its homes predate 1960.
April brings the most downpours to Cleveland County, part of 19.1 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Cleveland County gets about 19.1 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Cleveland County, 5.88 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
22% of occupied homes in Cleveland County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Arkansas county median of 10.9%.
With 114 muggy nights a year, mold in Cleveland County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 3,587 homes and around 7,453 residents, Cleveland County is 598 square miles of southern Arkansas. Besides Rison, the county seat, the biggest communities are Kingsland, Rye and Woodlawn. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1987.
45/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Cleveland County ranks 47 of 75 Arkansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Cleveland County ranks highest compared with other Arkansas counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Arkansas, and pipes still freeze. It averaged 41 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 4 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 53rd.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 7 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near 6°F on February 16, 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 12.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Arkansas. About 19.1 days a year bring an inch or more (7th of 75), most often in April, out of 60.5 inches of total precipitation. On August 28, 2020, 5.88 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 7.3 inches, ending March 11, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 39 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
Roughly 42% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Cleveland among the newer housing stocks of Arkansas's 75 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 9% of homes are pre-1960 and 27% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
31% 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.
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.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 114 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 expectMain heating fuel in Cleveland County's occupied homes: 11% utility gas, 64% electric, 21% propane and under 1% wood. Propane heat is 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 Cleveland County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Cleveland gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Bradley County has the oldest housing nearby, with 57% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Cleveland | Arkansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 9.2% | 15% | 63 of 75 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 42% | 46% | 51 of 75 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 27% | 23% | 18 of 75 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 29% | 15% | 2 of 75 |
| Vacant homes | 18% | 18% | 36 of 75 |
| Wood or propane heat | 22% | 11% | 15 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 | 7 of 75 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 39/yr | 48/yr | 55 of 75 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 114/yr | 105/yr | 20 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 Cleveland County: freezing from January, heavy rain in February, April and December.
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