Crittenden County, Arkansas · Marion
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Crittenden County averages 6 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly January, and 12% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in March. Crittenden County averages 15 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Crittenden County spike on heavy-rain days, about 15 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 36 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
4% of occupied homes in Crittenden 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 117 times a year in Crittenden County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 47,266 people live in Crittenden County, 612 square miles in eastern Arkansas, in roughly 21,388 homes. Besides Marion, the county seat, the biggest communities are West Memphis, Earle and Turrell. Half the homes here were built before 1983, half after.
41/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Crittenden County ranks 58 of 75 Arkansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Crittenden County ranks highest compared with other Arkansas counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Crittenden County sits near the middle of the state. From 2015–2024 it averaged 6 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 40 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 37th of 75 counties.
On December 23, 2022 the low fell to about 2°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 8 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
The freeze season here runs January, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 13 and end around Mar 10.
Crittenden gets fewer downpours than most Arkansas counties, but they still fill basements. About 15 days a year bring an inch or more (60th of 75), most often in March, out of 57.5 inches of total precipitation. On March 10, 2016, 4.53 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 7.82 inches, ending March 11, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 36 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
Roughly 46% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Crittenden near the middle of Arkansas's 75 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 12% of homes are pre-1960 and 24% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
About 30% 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.
Renters occupy 43% 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 117 times a year here, above the Arkansas county median of 105. Keep indoor humidity under 60%, as the EPA advises, and dry any leak within 24 to 48 hours; in a humid month a wet basement left alone won't dry by itself.
Mold remediation: what to expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Crittenden County it's 46% utility gas, 48% electric, 4% propane and under 1% 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 Crittenden County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Mississippi and Poinsett get more pipe-freeze nights than Crittenden. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Lee County has the oldest housing nearby, with 62% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Crittenden | Arkansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 12% | 15% | 50 of 75 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 46% | 46% | 39 of 75 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 24% | 23% | 34 of 75 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 6.7% | 15% | 70 of 75 |
| Vacant homes | 15% | 18% | 50 of 75 |
| Wood or propane heat | 4.4% | 11% | 70 of 75 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 6/yr | 6/yr | 37 of 75 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 15/yr | 17/yr | 60 of 75 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 36/yr | 48/yr | 61 of 75 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 117/yr | 105/yr | 13 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 Crittenden County: freezing from January, 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