Cross County, Arkansas · Wynne
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Pipes freeze in Cross County on about 6 nights a year, mostly January. Older homes, 14% of the stock here, are most at risk.
March brings the most downpours to Cross County, part of 17.5 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
14% 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.
Cross County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 4.35 inches, and about 37 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
12% of occupied homes in Cross County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Arkansas county median of 10.9%.
About 114 nights a year here stay at 65°F or warmer, so basements and crawl spaces can grow mold even without a leak.
Local risk profile
Cross County covers 616 square miles of northeast Arkansas, with about 16,543 residents and 7,586 homes. The county seat is Wynne, and Parkin, Cherry Valley and Vanndale round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1981, half after.
54/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Cross County ranks 28 of 75 Arkansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Cross County ranks highest compared with other Arkansas counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Cross County sits near the middle of the state. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 6 nights a year at or below 20°F (37th of 75) and 42 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 9 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -1°F on February 16, 2021.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs January. 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 11.
Rainfall is about average for Arkansas. The county gets about 58.6 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 17.5 days of an inch or more (28th of 75). Those downpours cluster in February, March and April, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 4.35 inches on August 28, 2020. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.92 inches, ending March 11, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 37 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 48% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Cross near the middle of Arkansas's 75 counties.
The mix runs from 14% built before 1960 to 21% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
About 31% 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.
17% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, close to 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. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Cross County's occupied homes: 28% utility gas, 59% electric, 11% propane and 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 Cross County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Jackson and Poinsett get more pipe-freeze nights than Cross. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Jackson County has the oldest housing nearby, with 66% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Cross | Arkansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 14% | 15% | 44 of 75 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 48% | 46% | 34 of 75 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 21% | 23% | 50 of 75 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 17% | 15% | 31 of 75 |
| Vacant homes | 15% | 18% | 52 of 75 |
| Wood or propane heat | 12% | 11% | 31 of 75 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 6/yr | 6/yr | 37 of 75 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 18/yr | 17/yr | 28 of 75 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 37/yr | 48/yr | 58 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 Cross 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