Beckham County, Oklahoma · Sayre
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Pipes freeze in Beckham County on about 15 nights a year, mostly December to February. Older homes, 26% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Beckham County averages 6.3 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Beckham County gets about 6.3 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 73 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
10% of occupied homes in Beckham County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Oklahoma county median of 12.5%.
About 88 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
Beckham County covers 902 square miles of central Oklahoma, with about 22,148 residents and 10,137 homes. Besides Sayre, the county seat, the biggest communities are Elk City, Erick and Carter. The county's median home was built in 1978.
41/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Beckham County ranks 69 of 77 Oklahoma counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Beckham County ranks highest compared with other Oklahoma counties.
For frozen pipes, Beckham County is a typical Oklahoma county, which is still plenty. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 15 nights a year at or below 20°F (27th of 77) and 78 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about -6°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 10 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
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 Nov 4 and the last spring freeze around Apr 3.
Beckham gets fewer downpours than most Oklahoma counties, but they still fill basements. About 6.3 days a year bring an inch or more (70th of 77), most often in May, out of 26 inches of total precipitation. On October 8, 2018, 3.34 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 6.12 inches (through October 9, 2018).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 73 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
Oklahoma's 77 counties range widely in housing age; Beckham ranks 44th, with 53% of its homes built before 1980.
Growth since 2000 added 29% of today's homes. In houses that new, the weak points are washing machine hoses, ice maker lines, water heaters and sump pumps rather than the pipes in the walls.
14% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, close to the Oklahoma county median of 12.3%. 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.
With 19% 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 88 times a year here, below the Oklahoma county median of 98. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Beckham County's occupied homes: 46% utility gas, 43% electric, 9% propane and under 1% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Beckham County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Custer and Roger Mills get more pipe-freeze nights than Beckham. Harmon County has the oldest housing nearby, with 78% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Beckham | Oklahoma median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 26% | 24% | 35 of 77 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 53% | 55% | 44 of 77 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 29% | 22% | 11 of 77 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 14% | 12% | 34 of 77 |
| Vacant homes | 19% | 17% | 31 of 77 |
| Wood or propane heat | 9.7% | 13% | 51 of 77 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 15/yr | 13/yr | 27 of 77 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6.3/yr | 11/yr | 70 of 77 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 73/yr | 65/yr | 19 of 77 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 88/yr | 98/yr | 61 of 77 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Oklahoma county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Beckham County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in April, May and June.
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