Jackson County, Arkansas · Newport
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Pipes freeze in Jackson County on about 8 nights a year, mostly January to February. Older homes, 22% of the stock here, are most at risk.
March brings the most downpours to Jackson County, part of 16.5 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in Jackson County spike on heavy-rain days, about 16.5 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Jackson County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 4.7 inches, and about 46 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
8% of occupied homes in Jackson County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Arkansas county median of 10.9%.
With 102 muggy nights a year, mold in Jackson County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 7,095 homes and around 16,712 residents, Jackson County is 634 square miles of northeast Arkansas. Besides Newport, the county seat, the biggest communities are Tuckerman, Diaz and Swifton. The county's median home was built in 1974.
64/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Jackson County ranks 7 of 75 Arkansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Jackson County ranks highest compared with other Arkansas counties.
For frozen pipes, Jackson County is a typical Arkansas county, which is still plenty. It averaged 52 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 8 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 29th.
The longest cold spell was straight 10 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -2°F on February 16, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
The freeze season here runs January to February, 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 18.
Rainfall is about average for Arkansas. About 16.5 days a year bring an inch or more (41st of 75), most often in March, out of 55.7 inches of total precipitation. On April 30, 2017, 4.7 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 7.1 inches (through February 23, 2018).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 46 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
66% of homes in Jackson County predate 1980, above the Arkansas county median of 46%, which ranks 1st of Arkansas's 75 counties.
In Jackson County 22% of homes are older than 1960. If yours is one of them and the plumbing has never been replaced, expect galvanized steel supply pipe and cast iron drain lines, the two materials most likely to fail quietly.
24% date from 1980 to 1999, the window when polybutylene, a gray flexible plastic supply pipe, was used in some homes. It's prone to leaks at the fittings, so it's worth checking for in a house from those years.
Here 8% 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.
Renters occupy 35% 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
Jackson County averages 102 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in March. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Jackson County homes break down as 43% utility gas, 48% electric, 7% propane and 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 Jackson County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Independence and Lawrence get more pipe-freeze nights than Jackson. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Jackson | Arkansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 22% | 15% | 7 of 75 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 66% | 46% | 1 of 75 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 10% | 23% | 74 of 75 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 8% | 15% | 68 of 75 |
| Vacant homes | 14% | 18% | 53 of 75 |
| Wood or propane heat | 8.2% | 11% | 48 of 75 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 8/yr | 6/yr | 29 of 75 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 17/yr | 17/yr | 41 of 75 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 46/yr | 48/yr | 44 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 Jackson County: freezing from January to February, 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