Major County, Oklahoma · Fairview
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Pipes freeze in Major County on about 22 nights a year, mostly December to February. Older homes, 29% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Major County averages 7.3 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Major County spike on heavy-rain days, about 7.3 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Major County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 4.3 inches, and about 83 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
26% of occupied homes in Major County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Oklahoma county median of 12.5%.
With 86 muggy nights a year, mold in Major County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 3,716 homes and around 7,628 residents, Major County is 955 square miles of northern Oklahoma. Besides Fairview, the county seat, the biggest communities are Ringwood, Cleo Springs and Ames. The county's median home was built in 1976.
52/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Major County ranks 30 of 77 Oklahoma counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Major County ranks highest compared with other Oklahoma counties.
Major is on the colder side of Oklahoma for pipes. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 22 nights a year at or below 20°F (9th of 77) and 91 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 12 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -11°F on February 16, 2021.
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 29 and the last spring freeze around Apr 7.
Major gets fewer downpours than most Oklahoma counties, but they still fill basements. About 7.3 days a year bring an inch or more (62nd of 77), most often in May, out of 29.6 inches of total precipitation. On May 21, 2019, 4.3 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 6.43 inches (through October 10, 2018).
About 83 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
Roughly 58% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Major near the middle of Oklahoma's 77 counties.
29% were built before 1960. Homes from that era often still have galvanized steel supply pipe, which rusts from the inside until it pinholes, and cast iron drains that crack with age. Slow leaks behind walls are a common start to water damage in these houses.
Here 11% 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.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 86 times a year here, below the Oklahoma county median of 98. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Major County homes break down as 39% utility gas, 32% electric, 22% propane and 4% wood. Wood and propane heat are 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 Major County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Alfalfa, Woods and Woodward get more pipe-freeze nights than Major. Woods County has the oldest housing nearby, with 78% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Major | Oklahoma median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 29% | 24% | 30 of 77 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 58% | 55% | 30 of 77 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 21% | 22% | 43 of 77 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 11% | 12% | 48 of 77 |
| Vacant homes | 14% | 17% | 53 of 77 |
| Wood or propane heat | 26% | 13% | 8 of 77 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 22/yr | 13/yr | 9 of 77 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7.3/yr | 11/yr | 62 of 77 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 83/yr | 65/yr | 9 of 77 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 86/yr | 98/yr | 65 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 Major County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in May, June and July.
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