Garland County, Arkansas · Hot Springs
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With 16% of homes built before 1960 and about 6 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
April brings the most downpours to Garland County, part of 18 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in Garland County spike on heavy-rain days, about 18 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Garland County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 5.33 inches, and about 50 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
4% of occupied homes in Garland 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 102 times a year in Garland County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Garland County covers 678 square miles of western Arkansas, with about 100,035 residents and 52,760 homes. Besides Hot Springs, the county seat, the biggest communities are Piney, Rockwell and Lake Hamilton. The county's median home was built in 1984.
58/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Garland County ranks 18 of 75 Arkansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Garland County ranks highest compared with other Arkansas counties.
For frozen pipes, Garland County is a typical Arkansas county, which is still plenty. 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 52 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 37th of 75 counties.
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 -3°F on February 16, 2021.
The freeze season here runs December to January, 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 23.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Arkansas. About 18 days a year bring an inch or more (20th of 75), most often in April, out of 57.5 inches of total precipitation. On April 30, 2016, 5.33 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 8.29 inches (through February 23, 2018).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 50 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
44% of homes in Garland County predate 1980, close to the Arkansas county median of 46%, which ranks 42nd of Arkansas's 75 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 16% predate 1960 and 27% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 30% 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.
Here 14% of housing is manufactured homes. Check the skirting and the heat tape on the main water line every fall, because that one exposed line is what freezes.
Beyond water
Garland County averages 102 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in May. 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 Garland County's occupied homes: 29% utility gas, 66% electric, 3% propane and 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 Garland County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Montgomery and Yell get more pipe-freeze nights than Garland. Hot Spring County has the oldest housing nearby, with 52% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Garland | Arkansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 16% | 15% | 31 of 75 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 44% | 46% | 42 of 75 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 27% | 23% | 20 of 75 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 14% | 15% | 41 of 75 |
| Vacant homes | 17% | 18% | 44 of 75 |
| Wood or propane heat | 4.2% | 11% | 71 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 | 20 of 75 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 50/yr | 48/yr | 35 of 75 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 102/yr | 105/yr | 39 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 Garland County: freezing from December to January, 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