Marshall County, Oklahoma · Madill
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With 10% of homes built before 1960 and about 6 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 12.9 times a year here, most often in May. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Marshall County gets about 12.9 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Marshall County, 5.4 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
8% of occupied homes in Marshall County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Oklahoma county median of 12.5%.
About 120 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
Marshall County covers 371 square miles of southeast Oklahoma, with about 15,792 residents and 8,832 homes. The county seat is Madill, and Kingston, Oakland and Cumberland round out the largest towns. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1985.
36/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Marshall County ranks 74 of 77 Oklahoma counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Marshall County ranks highest compared with other Oklahoma counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Oklahoma, and pipes still freeze. From 2015–2024 it averaged 6 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 44 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 73rd of 77 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 10 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -4°F on February 16, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
The freeze season here runs January, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 15 and end around Mar 8.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Oklahoma. Of roughly 44 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 12.9 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 22nd of 77. March, May and October see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 5.4 inches, September 22, 2018. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.81 inches, ending September 23, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 40 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 42% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Marshall among the newer housing stocks of Oklahoma's 77 counties.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 27% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
About 31% 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.
34% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, above 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.
The Census counted 32% 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
About 120 nights a year in Marshall County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (2nd of 77 counties). May is the wettest month. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Marshall County homes break down as 17% utility gas, 74% electric, 6% propane and 2% 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 Marshall County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Carter and Johnston get more pipe-freeze nights than Marshall. Carter County has the oldest housing nearby, with 54% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Marshall | Oklahoma median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 10% | 24% | 70 of 77 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 42% | 55% | 66 of 77 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 27% | 22% | 18 of 77 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 34% | 12% | 1 of 77 |
| Vacant homes | 32% | 17% | 3 of 77 |
| Wood or propane heat | 7.5% | 13% | 59 of 77 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 6/yr | 13/yr | 73 of 77 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 13/yr | 11/yr | 22 of 77 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 40/yr | 65/yr | 77 of 77 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 120/yr | 98/yr | 2 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 Marshall County: freezing from January, heavy rain in March, May 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