Yell County, Arkansas · Danville
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Pipes freeze in Yell County on about 7 nights a year, mostly December to February. Older homes, 15% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Yell County averages 16.1 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
15% 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.
Yell County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 6.13 inches, and about 55 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
12% of occupied homes in Yell County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Arkansas county median of 10.9%.
With 95 muggy nights a year, mold in Yell County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 20,134 people live in Yell County, 930 square miles in western Arkansas, in roughly 9,312 homes. Besides Danville, the county seat, the biggest communities are Dardanelle, Ola and Plainview. Half the homes here were built before 1984, half after.
45/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Yell County ranks 49 of 75 Arkansas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Yell County ranks highest compared with other Arkansas counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Yell County sits near the middle of the state. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 7 nights a year at or below 20°F (34th 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 -5°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.
The freeze season here runs December to February, 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 10 and end around Mar 20.
Rainfall is about average for Arkansas. The county gets about 53.7 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 16.1 days of an inch or more (47th of 75). Those downpours cluster in March, April and May, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 6.13 inches on December 28, 2015. The worst three-day stretch dropped 7.49 inches, ending December 28, 2015, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 55 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
44% of homes in Yell County predate 1980, close to the Arkansas county median of 46%, which ranks 40th of Arkansas's 75 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 15% of homes are pre-1960 and 26% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
30% 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 17% 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.
Beyond water
About 95 nights a year in Yell County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (47th of 75 counties). May is the wettest month. 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 Yell County it's 20% utility gas, 67% electric, 7% propane and 5% wood. Wood heat is more common here than in most Arkansas counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Yell County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Conway, Logan, Montgomery, Pope and Scott get more pipe-freeze nights than Yell. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Logan County has the oldest housing nearby, with 52% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Yell | Arkansas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 15% | 15% | 41 of 75 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 44% | 46% | 40 of 75 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 26% | 23% | 25 of 75 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 17% | 15% | 35 of 75 |
| Vacant homes | 11% | 18% | 64 of 75 |
| Wood or propane heat | 12% | 11% | 32 of 75 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 7/yr | 6/yr | 34 of 75 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 16/yr | 17/yr | 47 of 75 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 55/yr | 48/yr | 26 of 75 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 95/yr | 105/yr | 47 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 Yell 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