Craighead County, Arkansas · Jonesboro
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With 8% 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.
Basements flood here mostly in March. Craighead County averages 15.3 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
8% 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.
Craighead County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 4.06 inches, and about 42 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
5% of occupied homes in Craighead County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Arkansas county median of 10.9%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 105 times a year in Craighead County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
With 48,885 homes and around 113,249 residents, Craighead County is 707 square miles of northeast Arkansas. Besides Jonesboro, the county seat, the biggest communities are Brookland, Bono and Lake City. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1992.
35/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Craighead County ranks 69 of 75 Arkansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Craighead County ranks highest compared with other Arkansas counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Craighead County sits near the middle of the state. From 2015–2024 it averaged 8 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 49 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 29th of 75 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 10 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about 0°F on December 23, 2022. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs January 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.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 12 and end around Mar 16.
Craighead gets fewer downpours than most Arkansas counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 56.7 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 15.3 days of an inch or more (54th of 75). Those downpours cluster in February, March and April, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 4.06 inches on March 31, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 7.06 inches, ending February 23, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 42 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
34% of homes in Craighead County predate 1980, below the Arkansas county median of 46%, which ranks 67th of Arkansas's 75 counties.
Growth since 2000 added 38% of today's homes. In houses that new, the weak points are washing machine hoses, ice maker lines, water heaters and sump pumps rather than the pipes in the walls.
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.
Renters occupy 40% of homes. If you rent, the building is usually the landlord's to repair, but your belongings are only covered by renters insurance.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 105 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Craighead County it's 36% utility gas, 58% electric, 4% propane and under 1% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Craighead County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Greene and Lawrence get more pipe-freeze nights than Craighead. Jackson County has the oldest housing nearby, with 66% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Craighead | Arkansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 7.8% | 15% | 68 of 75 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 34% | 46% | 67 of 75 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 38% | 23% | 6 of 75 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 4.5% | 15% | 73 of 75 |
| Vacant homes | 9.1% | 18% | 67 of 75 |
| Wood or propane heat | 4.8% | 11% | 63 of 75 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 8/yr | 6/yr | 29 of 75 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 15/yr | 17/yr | 54 of 75 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 42/yr | 48/yr | 49 of 75 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 105/yr | 105/yr | 38 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 Craighead County: freezing from January to February, heavy rain in February, 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