Howell County, Missouri · West Plains
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With 22% of homes built before 1960 and about 19 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Basements flood here mostly in March. Howell County averages 11.7 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Howell County spike on heavy-rain days, about 11.7 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Howell County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 4.3 inches, and about 73 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
38% of occupied homes in Howell County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Missouri county median of 24.5%.
With 67 muggy nights a year, mold in Howell County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
Howell County covers 927 square miles of southern Missouri, with about 40,383 residents and 18,149 homes. Besides West Plains, the county seat, the biggest communities are Mountain View, Willow Springs and Pomona. The county's median home was built in 1982.
40/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Howell County ranks 91 of 114 Missouri counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Howell County ranks highest compared with other Missouri counties.
Howell County is milder than most of Missouri, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. It averaged 81 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 19 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 114 Missouri counties that's 100th.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 10 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -7°F on February 16, 2021.
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 28 and the last spring freeze around Apr 4.
Rainfall is about average for Missouri. About 11.7 days a year bring an inch or more (39th of 114), most often in March, out of 50 inches of total precipitation. On April 30, 2017, 4.3 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 8.54 inches (through November 6, 2024).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 73 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
48% of homes in Howell County predate 1980, below the Missouri county median of 53%, which ranks 77th of Missouri's 114 counties.
The mix runs from 22% built before 1960 to 24% 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 28% 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.
12% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, above the Missouri county median of 9.8%. 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
Howell County averages 67 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in May. 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, Howell County homes break down as 14% utility gas, 47% electric, 27% propane and 11% wood. Wood and propane heat are above the Missouri 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 Howell County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Douglas, Shannon and Texas get more pipe-freeze nights than Howell. Oregon County has the oldest housing nearby, with 54% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Howell | Missouri median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 22% | 25% | 71 of 114 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 48% | 53% | 77 of 114 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 24% | 21% | 39 of 114 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 12% | 9.8% | 37 of 114 |
| Vacant homes | 12% | 15% | 81 of 114 |
| Wood or propane heat | 38% | 25% | 28 of 114 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 19/yr | 28/yr | 100 of 114 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 12/yr | 10/yr | 39 of 114 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 73/yr | 77/yr | 81 of 114 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 67/yr | 65/yr | 45 of 114 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Missouri county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Howell 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