Conway County, Arkansas · Morrilton
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With 17% of homes built before 1960 and about 8 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
May brings the most downpours to Conway County, part of 18.6 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
17% 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 Conway County, 6.26 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
13% of occupied homes in Conway 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 94 times a year in Conway County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 21,054 people live in Conway County, 552 square miles in central Arkansas, in roughly 9,703 homes. The county seat is Morrilton, and Plumerville, Oppelo and Springfield round out the largest towns. The county's median home was built in 1984.
63/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Conway County ranks 9 of 75 Arkansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Conway County ranks highest compared with other Arkansas counties.
For frozen pipes, Conway County is a typical Arkansas county, which is still plenty. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 8 nights a year at or below 20°F (29th of 75) and 62 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
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 -5°F on February 16, 2021.
The freeze season here runs December to February, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 10 and the last spring freeze around Mar 27.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Arkansas. Of roughly 56 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 18.6 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 11th of 75. March, April and May see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 6.26 inches, July 9, 2024. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 7.3 inches (through February 23, 2018).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 58 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
46% of homes in Conway County predate 1980, close to the Arkansas county median of 46%, which ranks 36th of Arkansas's 75 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 17% 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.
27% 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.
19% 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
Conway County averages 94 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 Conway County's occupied homes: 22% utility gas, 64% electric, 6% propane and 6% wood. Wood 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 Conway County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Pope and Van Buren get more pipe-freeze nights than Conway. 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 | Conway | Arkansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 17% | 15% | 29 of 75 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 46% | 46% | 36 of 75 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 27% | 23% | 20 of 75 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 19% | 15% | 20 of 75 |
| Vacant homes | 15% | 18% | 51 of 75 |
| Wood or propane heat | 13% | 11% | 29 of 75 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 8/yr | 6/yr | 29 of 75 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 19/yr | 17/yr | 11 of 75 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 58/yr | 48/yr | 20 of 75 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 94/yr | 105/yr | 50 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 Conway 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