Prairie County, Arkansas · Des Arc
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With 14% of homes built before 1960 and about 5 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
March brings the most downpours to Prairie County, part of 14.1 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Prairie County gets about 14.1 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Prairie County, 4.19 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
11% of occupied homes in Prairie County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Arkansas county median of 10.9%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 117 times a year in Prairie County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Prairie County covers 648 square miles of central Arkansas, with about 8,064 residents and 4,086 homes. The county seat is Des Arc, and Hazen, De Valls Bluff and Ulm round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1979, half after.
39/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Prairie County ranks 65 of 75 Arkansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Prairie County ranks highest compared with other Arkansas counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Prairie County sits near the middle of the state. From 2015–2024 it averaged 5 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 37 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 44th of 75 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 8 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about 1°F on February 16, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
Most freezing nights fall from January, peaking in January. Disconnect garden hoses and shut off outdoor spigots before the first hard frost, and keep the heat at 55°F or higher if you'll be away.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 12 and end around Mar 7.
Prairie gets fewer downpours than most Arkansas counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 52.6 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 14.1 days of an inch or more (68th of 75). Those downpours cluster in March, April and May, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 4.19 inches on April 30, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.07 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 33 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; Prairie ranks 22nd, with 52% of its homes built before 1980.
Housing age is mixed: 14% of homes are pre-1960 and 13% 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 35% 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 19% 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.
With 20% of homes empty at survey time, landlords and seasonal owners should shut off the main or schedule checks in winter. An unheated vacant house is also where many policies limit freeze coverage.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 117 times a year here, above the Arkansas county median of 105. Keep indoor humidity under 60%, as the EPA advises, and dry any leak within 24 to 48 hours; in a humid month a wet basement left alone won't dry by itself.
Mold remediation: what to expectBy main heating fuel, Prairie County homes break down as 21% utility gas, 67% electric, 9% propane and 2% 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 Prairie County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
White and Woodruff get more pipe-freeze nights than Prairie. Woodruff County has the oldest housing nearby, with 60% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Prairie | Arkansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 14% | 15% | 43 of 75 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 52% | 46% | 22 of 75 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 13% | 23% | 70 of 75 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 19% | 15% | 21 of 75 |
| Vacant homes | 20% | 18% | 29 of 75 |
| Wood or propane heat | 11% | 11% | 34 of 75 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 5/yr | 6/yr | 44 of 75 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 14/yr | 17/yr | 68 of 75 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 33/yr | 48/yr | 64 of 75 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 117/yr | 105/yr | 13 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 Prairie County: freezing from 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