Monroe County, Arkansas · Clarendon
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Monroe County averages 4 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly January, and 20% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 14.2 times a year here, most often in March. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Monroe County gets about 14.2 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Monroe County, 4.57 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
9% of occupied homes in Monroe County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Arkansas county median of 10.9%.
About 119 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
Monroe County covers 607 square miles of eastern Arkansas, with about 6,589 residents and 3,829 homes. Clarendon is the county seat; Brinkley, Holly Grove and Roe are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1976, half after.
45/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Monroe County ranks 48 of 75 Arkansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Monroe County ranks highest compared with other Arkansas counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Arkansas, and pipes still freeze. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 4 nights a year at or below 20°F (53rd of 75) and 34 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
The longest cold spell was straight 8 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about 3°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, 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 7.
Monroe gets fewer downpours than most Arkansas counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 51.7 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 14.2 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 67th of 75. March, April and November see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.57 inches, March 10, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 8.18 inches, ending March 11, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 31 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
Roughly 60% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Monroe among the oldest housing stocks of Arkansas's 75 counties.
20% were built before 1960. Homes from that era often still have galvanized steel supply pipe, which rusts from the inside until it pinholes, and cast iron drains that crack with age. Slow leaks behind walls are a common start to water damage in these houses.
22% 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 16% 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.
27% of homes were vacant at survey time. A leak in an empty rental or seasonal house can run for days before anyone notices, which is why those losses tend to be larger.
Renters occupy 37% 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 119 times a year here, above the Arkansas county median of 105. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Monroe County it's 31% utility gas, 60% electric, 8% propane and under 1% wood. Heating equipment, cooking and electrical failures cause most home fires nationally. Even a small kitchen fire can leave soot through the whole house, because smoke follows air currents into closets, ducts and attic space.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Monroe County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Lee, Prairie, St. Francis and Woodruff get more pipe-freeze nights than Monroe. Phillips County has the oldest housing nearby, with 66% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Monroe | Arkansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 20% | 15% | 18 of 75 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 60% | 46% | 7 of 75 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 17% | 23% | 62 of 75 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 16% | 15% | 36 of 75 |
| Vacant homes | 27% | 18% | 10 of 75 |
| Wood or propane heat | 8.6% | 11% | 46 of 75 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 4/yr | 6/yr | 53 of 75 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 14/yr | 17/yr | 67 of 75 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 31/yr | 48/yr | 68 of 75 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 119/yr | 105/yr | 10 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 Monroe County: freezing from January, heavy rain in March, April and November.
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