Crawford County, Arkansas · Van Buren
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With 11% of homes built before 1960 and about 11 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
May brings the most downpours to Crawford County, part of 17.4 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
11% 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.
Crawford County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 5.06 inches, and about 62 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
8% of occupied homes in Crawford County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Arkansas county median of 10.9%.
With 93 muggy nights a year, mold in Crawford County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 61,139 people live in Crawford County, 595 square miles in northwest Arkansas, in roughly 25,621 homes. The county seat is Van Buren, and Alma, Cedarville and Mulberry round out the largest towns. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1991.
51/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Crawford County ranks 37 of 75 Arkansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Crawford County ranks highest compared with other Arkansas counties.
Crawford County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Arkansas. From 2015–2024 it averaged 11 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 65 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 17th of 75 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 8 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -7°F on February 16, 2021.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs December 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 10 and end around Apr 1.
Rainfall is about average for Arkansas. The county gets about 55 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 17.4 days of an inch or more (29th of 75). Those downpours cluster in March, May and August, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 5.06 inches on December 28, 2015. The worst three-day stretch dropped 8.26 inches, ending December 29, 2015, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 62 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
35% of homes in Crawford County predate 1980, below the Arkansas county median of 46%, which ranks 63rd of Arkansas's 75 counties.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 30% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 35% 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.
10% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, below 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
About 93 nights a year in Crawford County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (52nd of 75 counties). May is the wettest month. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30 to 50%. Basements can pass 60% on their own in summer, so a dehumidifier matters even without a leak, and anything wet should be dried within 24 to 48 hours.
Mold remediation: what to expectMain heating fuel in Crawford County's occupied homes: 37% utility gas, 55% electric, 4% propane and 4% wood. Most homes here heat with gas or electricity, so cooking and electrical faults are the likelier fire sources. Even a contained kitchen fire can send soot through the ductwork to every room.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Crawford County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Madison and Washington get more pipe-freeze nights than Crawford. Sebastian County has the oldest housing nearby, with 49% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Crawford | Arkansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 11% | 15% | 56 of 75 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 35% | 46% | 63 of 75 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 30% | 23% | 13 of 75 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 9.9% | 15% | 65 of 75 |
| Vacant homes | 8.8% | 18% | 69 of 75 |
| Wood or propane heat | 7.7% | 11% | 52 of 75 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 11/yr | 6/yr | 17 of 75 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 17/yr | 17/yr | 29 of 75 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 62/yr | 48/yr | 13 of 75 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 93/yr | 105/yr | 52 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 Crawford County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in March, May and August.
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