Newton County, Arkansas · Jasper
Water spreading, a burst pipe, sewage, mold or smoke? Call to be connected with a restoration company that serves Jasper, Western Grove and Wayton. Start the steps below while you wait.
Answered 24/7 by a participating local provider. We're a referral service and don't do the work ourselves. How it works
Start here
Pick the closest match. These steps limit the damage and protect your insurance claim. Skip anything that isn't safe.
Newton County averages 17 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 22% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 15.2 times a year here, most often in May. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Newton County gets about 15.2 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 64 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
57% of occupied homes in Newton County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Arkansas county median of 10.9%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 64 times a year in Newton County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 7,112 people live in Newton County, 821 square miles in northwest Arkansas, in roughly 4,099 homes. The county seat is Jasper, and Western Grove, Wayton and Deer round out the largest towns. The county's median home was built in 1983.
63/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Newton County ranks 11 of 75 Arkansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Newton County ranks highest compared with other Arkansas counties.
Newton is on the colder side of Arkansas for pipes. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 17 nights a year at or below 20°F (2nd of 75) and 71 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about -12°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 10 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs December to February. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 31 and the last spring freeze around Apr 3.
Newton gets fewer downpours than most Arkansas counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 52.7 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 15.2 days of an inch or more (55th of 75). Those downpours cluster in March, May and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 4.72 inches on December 28, 2015. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 7.71 inches (through November 5, 2024).
About 64 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
Arkansas's 75 counties range widely in housing age; Newton ranks 35th, with 47% of its homes built before 1980.
In Newton 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.
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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 15% 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.
22% 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.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 64 times a year here, below the Arkansas county median of 105. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30 to 50%. Basements can pass 60% on their own in summer, so a dehumidifier matters even without a leak, and anything wet should be dried within 24 to 48 hours.
Mold remediation: what to expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Newton County it's 4% utility gas, 38% electric, 30% propane and 27% wood. Wood and propane heat are above the Arkansas norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Newton County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Madison gets more pipe-freeze nights than Newton. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Newton | Arkansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 22% | 15% | 8 of 75 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 47% | 46% | 35 of 75 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 24% | 23% | 37 of 75 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 15% | 15% | 39 of 75 |
| Vacant homes | 22% | 18% | 20 of 75 |
| Wood or propane heat | 57% | 11% | 1 of 75 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 17/yr | 6/yr | 2 of 75 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 15/yr | 17/yr | 55 of 75 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 64/yr | 48/yr | 11 of 75 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 64/yr | 105/yr | 73 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 Newton County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in March, May and October.
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