Callahan County, Texas · Baird
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With 31% of homes built before 1960 and about 5 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
May brings the most downpours to Callahan County, part of 7.8 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Callahan County gets about 7.8 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Callahan County, 4.56 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
14% of occupied homes in Callahan County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Texas county median of 6.5%.
With 112 muggy nights a year, mold in Callahan County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
Callahan County covers 899 square miles of central Texas, with about 14,241 residents and 6,539 homes. The county seat is Baird, and Clyde, Cross Plains and Putnam round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1977, half after.
62/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Callahan County ranks 26 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Callahan County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Callahan County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Texas. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 5 nights a year at or below 20°F (54th of 232) and 39 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 10 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -2°F on February 16, 2021.
Most freezing nights fall from 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 21 and end around Mar 11.
Rainfall is about average for Texas. The county gets about 30.9 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 7.8 days of an inch or more (116th of 232). Those downpours cluster in May, June and September, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 4.56 inches on September 3, 2024. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.63 inches, ending September 4, 2024, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 35 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 55% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Callahan among the oldest housing stocks of Texas's 232 counties.
31% were built before 1960. Homes from that era often still have galvanized steel supply pipe, which rusts from the inside until it pinholes, and cast iron drains that crack with age. Slow leaks behind walls are a common start to water damage in these houses.
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.
20% 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
Callahan County averages 112 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in May. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30 to 50%. Basements can pass 60% on their own in summer, so a dehumidifier matters even without a leak, and anything wet should be dried within 24 to 48 hours.
Mold remediation: what to expectMain heating fuel in Callahan County's occupied homes: 19% utility gas, 67% electric, 13% propane and 1% wood. Propane heat is above the Texas norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Callahan County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Jones gets more pipe-freeze nights than Callahan. Jones County has the oldest housing nearby, with 67% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Callahan | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 31% | 20% | 48 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 55% | 46% | 72 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 26% | 26% | 124 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 16% | 13% | 84 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 20% | 17% | 78 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 14% | 6.5% | 39 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 5/yr | 3/yr | 54 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7.8/yr | 7.8/yr | 116 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 35/yr | 27/yr | 80 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 112/yr | 129/yr | 172 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 Callahan County: freezing from January, heavy rain in May, June and September.
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