McCurtain County, Oklahoma · Idabel
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McCurtain County averages 6 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to January, and 11% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 19.4 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 McCurtain County gets about 19.4 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In McCurtain County, 6.3 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
15% of occupied homes in McCurtain County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Oklahoma county median of 12.5%.
About 107 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
About 30,863 people live in McCurtain County, 1,851 square miles in southeast Oklahoma, in roughly 14,013 homes. The county seat is Idabel, and Broken Bow, Valliant and Wright City round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1983, half after.
42/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate McCurtain County ranks 67 of 77 Oklahoma counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where McCurtain 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 52 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 73rd of 77 counties.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about -8°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 7 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Most freezing nights fall from December to January, peaking in January. Disconnect garden hoses and shut off outdoor spigots before the first hard frost, and keep the heat at 55°F or higher if you'll be away.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 11 and end around Mar 18.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Oklahoma. About 19.4 days a year bring an inch or more (1st of 77), most often in May, out of 58.5 inches of total precipitation. On December 28, 2015, 6.3 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 8.25 inches, ending February 23, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 50 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 45% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts McCurtain among the newer housing stocks of Oklahoma's 77 counties.
The mix runs from 11% built before 1960 to 25% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
30% date from 1980 to 1999, the window when polybutylene, a gray flexible plastic supply pipe, was used in some homes. It's prone to leaks at the fittings, so it's worth checking for in a house from those years.
Here 16% 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.
21% of homes were vacant at survey time. A leak in an empty rental or seasonal house can run for days before anyone notices, which is why those losses tend to be larger.
Beyond water
McCurtain County averages 107 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, McCurtain County homes break down as 13% utility gas, 69% electric, 11% propane and 5% wood. Wood heat is more common here than the state median. Have chimneys swept and fuel-burning appliances serviced each fall, and keep three feet clear around stoves and space heaters.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across McCurtain County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Le Flore and Pushmataha get more pipe-freeze nights than McCurtain. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Choctaw County has the oldest housing nearby, with 47% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | McCurtain | Oklahoma median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 11% | 24% | 68 of 77 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 45% | 55% | 56 of 77 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 25% | 22% | 29 of 77 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 16% | 12% | 26 of 77 |
| Vacant homes | 21% | 17% | 24 of 77 |
| Wood or propane heat | 15% | 13% | 32 of 77 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 6/yr | 13/yr | 73 of 77 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 19/yr | 11/yr | 1 of 77 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 50/yr | 65/yr | 69 of 77 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 107/yr | 98/yr | 14 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 McCurtain County: freezing from December to January, heavy rain in March, April and May.
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