Pike County, Arkansas · Murfreesboro
Water spreading, a burst pipe, sewage, mold or smoke? Call to be connected with a restoration company that serves Glenwood, Murfreesboro and Kirby. 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.
Pike County averages 6 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 16% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 19.3 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 Pike County gets about 19.3 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 56 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
18% of occupied homes in Pike 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 98 times a year in Pike County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 10,115 people live in Pike County, 600 square miles in southwest Arkansas, in roughly 5,324 homes. The county seat is Murfreesboro, and Glenwood, Kirby and Delight round out the largest towns. The county's median home was built in 1984.
59/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Pike County ranks 16 of 75 Arkansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Pike County ranks highest compared with other Arkansas counties.
For frozen pipes, Pike County is a typical Arkansas county, which is still plenty. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 6 nights a year at or below 20°F (37th of 75) and 58 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about -7°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 6 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 Nov 6 and the last spring freeze around Mar 23.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Arkansas. The county gets about 64.5 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 19.3 days of an inch or more (5th of 75). Those downpours cluster in March, April and May, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 6.68 inches on December 28, 2015. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 8.17 inches (through July 17, 2019).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 56 times a year here. They're the main driver of ice dams and of water working its way through foundation cracks in late winter.
Housing
Arkansas's 75 counties range widely in housing age; Pike ranks 45th, with 44% of its homes built before 1980.
The mix runs from 16% built before 1960 to 20% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 36% 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 27% 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.
23% 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 98 times a year here, close to 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 expectMain heating fuel in Pike County's occupied homes: 25% utility gas, 55% electric, 12% propane and 6% 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 Pike County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Montgomery gets more pipe-freeze nights than Pike. Hempstead County has the oldest housing nearby, with 53% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Pike | Arkansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 16% | 15% | 37 of 75 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 44% | 46% | 45 of 75 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 20% | 23% | 51 of 75 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 27% | 15% | 8 of 75 |
| Vacant homes | 23% | 18% | 17 of 75 |
| Wood or propane heat | 18% | 11% | 21 of 75 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 6/yr | 6/yr | 37 of 75 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 19/yr | 17/yr | 5 of 75 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 56/yr | 48/yr | 25 of 75 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 98/yr | 105/yr | 46 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 Pike County: freezing from December 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