Sevier County, Arkansas · De Queen
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Pipes freeze in Sevier County on about 4 nights a year, mostly January. Older homes, 13% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Sevier County averages 18.4 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
13% of homes here predate 1960, when clay and cast iron sewer laterals were standard. Roots and cracks in those lines are a common cause of backups.
Sevier County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 6.71 inches, and about 47 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
8% of occupied homes in Sevier County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Arkansas county median of 10.9%.
About 109 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
With 6,791 homes and around 15,712 residents, Sevier County is 564 square miles of southwest Arkansas. De Queen is the county seat; Horatio, Lockesburg and Ben Lomond are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1980, half after.
46/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Sevier County ranks 46 of 75 Arkansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Sevier 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 49 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
The longest cold spell was straight 6 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -7°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 12 and end around Mar 17.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Arkansas. The county gets about 61.1 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 18.4 days of an inch or more (14th of 75). Those downpours cluster in April, May and December, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 6.71 inches on December 28, 2015. The worst three-day stretch dropped 8.24 inches, ending February 23, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 47 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
50% of homes in Sevier County predate 1980, above the Arkansas county median of 46%, which ranks 28th of Arkansas's 75 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 13% predate 1960 and 22% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
28% 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.
28% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, above the Arkansas county median of 15%. Their water lines run under the floor behind the skirting, so a torn skirt or failed heat tape freezes them faster than lines in a site-built house.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 109 times a year here, close to 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 expectMain heating fuel in Sevier County's occupied homes: 19% utility gas, 71% electric, 2% propane and 5% wood. Wood heat is 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 Sevier County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Howard and Polk get more pipe-freeze nights than Sevier. Howard County has the oldest housing nearby, with 53% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Sevier | Arkansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 13% | 15% | 48 of 75 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 50% | 46% | 28 of 75 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 22% | 23% | 43 of 75 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 28% | 15% | 6 of 75 |
| Vacant homes | 17% | 18% | 44 of 75 |
| Wood or propane heat | 7.6% | 11% | 54 of 75 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 4/yr | 6/yr | 53 of 75 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 18/yr | 17/yr | 14 of 75 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 47/yr | 48/yr | 43 of 75 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 109/yr | 105/yr | 28 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 Sevier County: freezing from January, heavy rain in April, May and December.
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