Texas County, Missouri · Houston
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Texas County averages 23 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 26% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Texas County averages 11.6 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Texas County gets about 11.6 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 76 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
46% of occupied homes in Texas County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Missouri county median of 24.5%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 60 times a year in Texas County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Texas County covers 1,177 square miles of southern Missouri, with about 25,161 residents and 11,006 homes. Houston is the county seat; Licking, Cabool and Raymondville are the next largest communities. The county's median home was built in 1979.
45/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Texas County ranks 78 of 114 Missouri counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Texas County ranks highest compared with other Missouri counties.
Texas County is milder than most of Missouri, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. From 2015–2024 it averaged 23 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 87 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 79th of 114 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 12 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -8°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 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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 26 and the last spring freeze around Apr 9.
Rainfall is about average for Missouri. About 11.6 days a year bring an inch or more (44th of 114), most often in May, out of 48 inches of total precipitation. On November 5, 2024, 5.12 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 8.87 inches (through November 6, 2024).
About 76 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
Missouri's 114 counties range widely in housing age; Texas ranks 62nd, with 52% of its homes built before 1980.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 26% predate 1960 and 21% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 13% 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 60 nights a year in Texas County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (67th of 114 counties). May is the wettest month. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Texas County it's 7% utility gas, 47% electric, 32% propane and 14% 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 Texas County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Dent, Phelps and Wright get more pipe-freeze nights than Texas. Dent County has the oldest housing nearby, with 53% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Texas | Missouri median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 26% | 25% | 56 of 114 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 52% | 53% | 62 of 114 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 21% | 21% | 60 of 114 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 13% | 9.8% | 32 of 114 |
| Vacant homes | 14% | 15% | 70 of 114 |
| Wood or propane heat | 46% | 25% | 12 of 114 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 23/yr | 28/yr | 79 of 114 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 12/yr | 10/yr | 44 of 114 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 76/yr | 77/yr | 61 of 114 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 60/yr | 65/yr | 67 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 Texas County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in April, May and August.
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