Ottawa County, Oklahoma · Miami
Water spreading, a burst pipe, sewage, mold or smoke? Call to be connected with a restoration company that serves Miami, Commerce and Fairland. Start the steps below while you wait.
Answered 24/7 by a participating local provider. We're a referral service and don't do the work ourselves. How it works
Start here
Pick the closest match. These steps limit the damage and protect your insurance claim. Skip anything that isn't safe.
Ottawa County averages 16 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 32% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 13.7 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 Ottawa County gets about 13.7 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Ottawa County, 4.82 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
13% of occupied homes in Ottawa County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Oklahoma county median of 12.5%.
With 89 muggy nights a year, mold in Ottawa County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 13,701 homes and around 30,341 residents, Ottawa County is 471 square miles of northeast Oklahoma. Besides Miami, the county seat, the biggest communities are Commerce, Fairland and Afton. Half the homes here were built before 1974, half after.
65/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Ottawa County ranks 3 of 77 Oklahoma counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Ottawa County ranks highest compared with other Oklahoma counties.
Ottawa County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Oklahoma. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 16 nights a year at or below 20°F (23rd of 77) and 74 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.
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 Nov 2 and end around Mar 31.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Oklahoma. The county gets about 49.4 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 13.7 days of an inch or more (16th of 77). Those downpours cluster in May, August and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 4.82 inches on May 1, 2019. The worst three-day stretch dropped 7.08 inches, ending May 23, 2019, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 66 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
Oklahoma's 77 counties range widely in housing age; Ottawa ranks 23rd, with 61% of its homes built before 1980.
Before 1960 is when 32% 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.
About 22% 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 12% 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.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 89 times a year here, close to the Oklahoma county median of 98. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Ottawa County's occupied homes: 42% utility gas, 43% electric, 9% propane and 5% wood. Wood 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 Ottawa County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Craig gets more pipe-freeze nights than Ottawa. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Ottawa | Oklahoma median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 32% | 24% | 24 of 77 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 61% | 55% | 23 of 77 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 17% | 22% | 55 of 77 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 12% | 12% | 43 of 77 |
| Vacant homes | 13% | 17% | 57 of 77 |
| Wood or propane heat | 13% | 13% | 38 of 77 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 16/yr | 13/yr | 23 of 77 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 14/yr | 11/yr | 16 of 77 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 66/yr | 65/yr | 34 of 77 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 89/yr | 98/yr | 56 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 Ottawa County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in May, August 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