Howard County, Arkansas · Nashville
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Pipes freeze in Howard County on about 5 nights a year, mostly December to January. Older homes, 18% of the stock here, are most at risk.
May brings the most downpours to Howard County, part of 18.4 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in Howard County spike on heavy-rain days, about 18.4 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Howard County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 6.28 inches, and about 53 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
6% of occupied homes in Howard 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 100 times a year in Howard County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Howard County covers 587 square miles of southwest Arkansas, with about 12,583 residents and 6,173 homes. Nashville is the county seat; Mineral Springs, Dierks and Tollette are the next largest communities. The county's median home was built in 1979.
58/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Howard County ranks 19 of 75 Arkansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Howard County ranks highest compared with other Arkansas counties.
For frozen pipes, Howard County is a typical Arkansas county, which is still plenty. It averaged 55 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 5 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 75 Arkansas counties that's 44th.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 6 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -8°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 18.4 days a year bring an inch or more (14th of 75), most often in May, out of 62.4 inches of total precipitation. On December 28, 2015, 6.28 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 7.83 inches (through February 23, 2018).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 53 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
Arkansas's 75 counties range widely in housing age; Howard ranks 20th, with 53% of its homes built before 1980.
Housing age is mixed: 18% of homes are pre-1960 and 22% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 26% 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 18% of the housing here. Water lines in the underbelly depend on intact skirting and working heat tape, and they're usually the first to freeze in a cold snap.
Beyond water
Howard County averages 100 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in May. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Howard County's occupied homes: 29% utility gas, 63% electric, 2% propane and 5% wood. Wood heat is more common here than in most Arkansas counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Howard County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Pike and Polk get more pipe-freeze nights than Howard. Hempstead County has the oldest housing nearby, with 53% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Howard | Arkansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 18% | 15% | 25 of 75 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 53% | 46% | 20 of 75 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 22% | 23% | 45 of 75 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 18% | 15% | 26 of 75 |
| Vacant homes | 17% | 18% | 42 of 75 |
| Wood or propane heat | 6.4% | 11% | 59 of 75 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 5/yr | 6/yr | 44 of 75 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 18/yr | 17/yr | 14 of 75 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 53/yr | 48/yr | 31 of 75 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 100/yr | 105/yr | 42 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 Howard 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