Comanche County, Oklahoma · Lawton
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With 22% of homes built before 1960 and about 10 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
May brings the most downpours to Comanche County, part of 10.4 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
22% 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.
Comanche County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.66 inches, and about 55 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
4% of occupied homes in Comanche County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Oklahoma county median of 12.5%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 105 times a year in Comanche County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Comanche County covers 1,069 square miles of southern Oklahoma, with about 121,825 residents and 52,666 homes. Lawton is the county seat; Elgin, Cache and Fletcher are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1977, half after.
43/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Comanche County ranks 64 of 77 Oklahoma counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Comanche County ranks highest compared with other Oklahoma counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Oklahoma, and pipes still freeze. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 10 nights a year at or below 20°F (52nd of 77) and 59 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On February 17, 2021 the low fell to about -8°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 11 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.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 9 and end around Mar 22.
Rainfall is about average for Oklahoma. Of roughly 34.4 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 10.4 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 42nd of 77. May, June and October see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.66 inches, March 29, 2017. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.93 inches, ending September 28, 2017, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 55 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
56% of homes in Comanche County predate 1980, close to the Oklahoma county median of 54.8%, which ranks 32nd of Oklahoma's 77 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 22% 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.
Renters occupy 44% of homes. If you rent, the building is usually the landlord's to repair, but your belongings are only covered by renters insurance.
Beyond water
Comanche County averages 105 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, Comanche County homes break down as 40% utility gas, 55% electric, 4% propane and under 1% wood. Most homes here heat with gas or electricity, so cooking and electrical faults are the likelier fire sources. Even a contained kitchen fire can send soot through the ductwork to every room.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Comanche County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Caddo, Grady and Kiowa get more pipe-freeze nights than Comanche. Tillman County has the oldest housing nearby, with 83% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Comanche | Oklahoma median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 22% | 24% | 47 of 77 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 56% | 55% | 32 of 77 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 22% | 22% | 40 of 77 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 4.3% | 12% | 72 of 77 |
| Vacant homes | 15% | 17% | 52 of 77 |
| Wood or propane heat | 4.2% | 13% | 70 of 77 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 10/yr | 13/yr | 52 of 77 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 10/yr | 11/yr | 42 of 77 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 55/yr | 65/yr | 58 of 77 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 105/yr | 98/yr | 18 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 Comanche County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in May, June and October.
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