Custer County, Oklahoma · Arapaho
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With 21% of homes built before 1960 and about 18 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
May brings the most downpours to Custer County, part of 6.5 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
21% 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.
Custer County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.87 inches, and about 77 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
6% of occupied homes in Custer 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 87 times a year in Custer County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 28,259 people live in Custer County, 989 square miles in central Oklahoma, in roughly 12,971 homes. The county seat is Arapaho, and Weatherford, Clinton and Thomas round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1978, half after.
41/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Custer County ranks 70 of 77 Oklahoma counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Custer County ranks highest compared with other Oklahoma counties.
Custer County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Oklahoma. From 2015–2024 it averaged 18 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 84 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 14th of 77 counties.
On February 17, 2021 the low fell to about -9°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 12 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 Oct 29 and end around Apr 8.
Custer gets fewer downpours than most Oklahoma counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 28.9 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 6.5 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 66th of 77. April, May and June see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.87 inches, October 8, 2018. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.31 inches, ending October 9, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 77 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
Oklahoma's 77 counties range widely in housing age; Custer ranks 40th, with 54% of its homes built before 1980.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 21% 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.
About 23% of homes went up between 1980 and 1999. Some houses from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s were plumbed with polybutylene, a gray plastic pipe known for failing at fittings. A plumber can tell you in a few minutes whether you have it.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 10% 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.
Renters occupy 40% 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
About 87 nights a year in Custer County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (62nd of 77 counties). May is the wettest month. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30 to 50%. Basements can pass 60% on their own in summer, so a dehumidifier matters even without a leak, and anything wet should be dried within 24 to 48 hours.
Mold remediation: what to expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Custer County it's 43% utility gas, 50% electric, 5% propane and under 1% wood. Heating equipment, cooking and electrical failures cause most home fires nationally. Even a small kitchen fire can leave soot through the whole house, because smoke follows air currents into closets, ducts and attic space.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Custer County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Dewey and Roger Mills get more pipe-freeze nights than Custer. Washita County has the oldest housing nearby, with 74% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Custer | Oklahoma median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 21% | 24% | 50 of 77 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 54% | 55% | 40 of 77 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 22% | 22% | 39 of 77 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 9.5% | 12% | 56 of 77 |
| Vacant homes | 15% | 17% | 50 of 77 |
| Wood or propane heat | 5.8% | 13% | 67 of 77 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 18/yr | 13/yr | 14 of 77 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6.5/yr | 11/yr | 66 of 77 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 77/yr | 65/yr | 14 of 77 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 87/yr | 98/yr | 62 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 Custer 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