Brown County, Texas · Brownwood
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With 24% of homes built before 1960 and about 4 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 6.7 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 Brown County gets about 6.7 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Brown County, 4.17 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 Brown County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Texas county median of 6.5%.
About 121 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 38,347 people live in Brown County, 944 square miles in central Texas, in roughly 19,246 homes. Besides Brownwood, the county seat, the biggest communities are Early, Bangs and Lake Brownwood. Half the homes here were built before 1978, half after.
55/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Brown County ranks 77 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Brown County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Brown County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Texas. From 2015–2024 it averaged 4 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 33 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 68th of 232 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 8 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near 1°F on February 16, 2021.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs January. 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 21 and end around Mar 1.
Rainfall is about average for Texas. The county gets about 28.8 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 6.7 days of an inch or more (135th of 232). Those downpours cluster in May, June and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 4.17 inches on July 8, 2015. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.23 inches, ending September 4, 2024, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 31 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
Texas's 232 counties range widely in housing age; Brown ranks 69th, with 55% of its homes built before 1980.
In Brown County 24% of homes are older than 1960. If yours is one of them and the plumbing has never been replaced, expect galvanized steel supply pipe and cast iron drain lines, the two materials most likely to fail quietly.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 28% of the county's homes. If yours is from those decades, look under the sinks and at the water heater for gray plastic pipe stamped PB, which is polybutylene and leak-prone.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 16% 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.
With 22% of homes empty at survey time, landlords and seasonal owners should shut off the main or schedule checks in winter. An unheated vacant house is also where many policies limit freeze coverage.
Beyond water
About 121 nights a year in Brown County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (146th of 232 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 expectMain heating fuel in Brown County's occupied homes: 25% utility gas, 66% electric, 7% propane and under 1% wood. Heating equipment, cooking and electrical failures cause most home fires nationally. Even a small kitchen fire can leave soot through the whole house, because smoke follows air currents into closets, ducts and attic space.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Brown County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Eastland gets more pipe-freeze nights than Brown. Coleman County has the oldest housing nearby, with 66% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Brown | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 24% | 20% | 82 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 55% | 46% | 69 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 18% | 26% | 175 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 16% | 13% | 83 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 22% | 17% | 62 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 7.9% | 6.5% | 96 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 4/yr | 3/yr | 68 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 6.7/yr | 7.8/yr | 135 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 31/yr | 27/yr | 97 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 121/yr | 129/yr | 146 of 232 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Texas county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Brown County: freezing from January, heavy rain in May, June 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