Ellis County, Oklahoma · Arnett
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Ellis County averages 26 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 40% of its homes predate 1960.
May brings the most downpours to Ellis County, part of 5.7 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
40% 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.
In Ellis County, 3.64 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
18% of occupied homes in Ellis County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Oklahoma county median of 12.5%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 70 times a year in Ellis County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
With 2,127 homes and around 3,683 residents, Ellis County is 1,231 square miles of northern Oklahoma. The county seat is Arnett, and Shattuck, Gage and Fargo round out the largest towns. The county's median home was built in 1969.
56/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Ellis County ranks 18 of 77 Oklahoma counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Ellis County ranks highest compared with other Oklahoma counties.
Ellis is on the colder side of Oklahoma for pipes. It averaged 101 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 26 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 77 Oklahoma counties that's 7th.
On February 15, 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.
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 27 and the last spring freeze around Apr 8.
Ellis gets fewer downpours than most Oklahoma counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 24.8 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 5.7 days of an inch or more (72nd of 77). Those downpours cluster in April, May and June, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.64 inches on October 8, 2018. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 6.98 inches (through October 9, 2018).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 94 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
68% of homes in Ellis County predate 1980, above the Oklahoma county median of 54.8%, which ranks 15th of Oklahoma's 77 counties.
Before 1960 is when 40% of these homes went up. Galvanized supply lines and cast iron drains were standard then, and after 60-plus years both corrode and crack, often out of sight inside a wall or under a slab.
Here 14% of housing is manufactured homes. Check the skirting and the heat tape on the main water line every fall, because that one exposed line is what freezes.
The Census counted 31% of homes as vacant, above the Oklahoma county median of 17.1%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
Ellis County averages 70 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Ellis County it's 46% utility gas, 33% electric, 16% propane and 2% wood. Propane heat is more common here than in most Oklahoma counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Ellis County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Beaver, Harper and Woodward get more pipe-freeze nights than Ellis. Harper County has the oldest housing nearby, with 79% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Ellis | Oklahoma median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 40% | 24% | 12 of 77 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 68% | 55% | 15 of 77 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 14% | 22% | 58 of 77 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 14% | 12% | 30 of 77 |
| Vacant homes | 31% | 17% | 5 of 77 |
| Wood or propane heat | 18% | 13% | 22 of 77 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 26/yr | 13/yr | 7 of 77 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.7/yr | 11/yr | 72 of 77 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 94/yr | 65/yr | 5 of 77 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 70/yr | 98/yr | 73 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 Ellis 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