Pontotoc County, Oklahoma · Ada
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With 23% of homes built before 1960 and about 10 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
May brings the most downpours to Pontotoc County, part of 13.8 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Pontotoc County gets about 13.8 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Pontotoc County, 10.44 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 Pontotoc County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Oklahoma county median of 12.5%.
About 105 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
With 17,531 homes and around 38,235 residents, Pontotoc County is 720 square miles of southeast Oklahoma. Ada is the county seat; Latta, Byng and Pickett are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1978, half after.
53/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Pontotoc County ranks 25 of 77 Oklahoma counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Pontotoc County ranks highest compared with other Oklahoma counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Oklahoma, and pipes still freeze. It averaged 58 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 10 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 52nd.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about -7°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 10 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
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 6 and end around Mar 26.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Oklahoma. The county gets about 46.9 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 13.8 days of an inch or more (14th of 77). Those downpours cluster in April, May and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 10.44 inches on September 22, 2018. The worst three-day stretch dropped 12.35 inches, ending September 23, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 55 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
Oklahoma's 77 counties range widely in housing age; Pontotoc ranks 41st, with 54% of its homes built before 1980.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 23% predate 1960 and 24% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
Here 9% 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.
Renters occupy 34% of homes. If you rent, the building is usually the landlord's to repair, but your belongings are only covered by renters insurance.
Beyond water
About 105 nights a year in Pontotoc County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (18th 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, Pontotoc County homes break down as 43% utility gas, 43% electric, 12% propane and 1% 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 Pontotoc County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Hughes, McClain, Pottawatomie and Seminole get more pipe-freeze nights than Pontotoc. Garvin County has the oldest housing nearby, with 65% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Pontotoc | Oklahoma median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 23% | 24% | 45 of 77 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 54% | 55% | 41 of 77 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 24% | 22% | 31 of 77 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 8.9% | 12% | 59 of 77 |
| Vacant homes | 14% | 17% | 55 of 77 |
| Wood or propane heat | 13% | 13% | 38 of 77 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 10/yr | 13/yr | 52 of 77 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 14/yr | 11/yr | 14 of 77 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 55/yr | 65/yr | 58 of 77 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 105/yr | 98/yr | 18 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 Pontotoc County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in April, 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