Castro County, Texas · Dimmitt
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Pipes freeze in Castro County on about 24 nights a year, mostly December to February. Older homes, 38% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in July. Castro County averages 3.3 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Castro County spike on heavy-rain days, about 3.3 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 93 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
7% of occupied homes in Castro County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Texas county median of 6.5%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 43 times a year in Castro County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 7,344 people live in Castro County, 894 square miles in northwest Texas, in roughly 3,024 homes. The county seat is Dimmitt, and Hart, Nazareth and Summerfield round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1966, half after.
59/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Castro County ranks 49 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Castro County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Castro County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Texas. From 2015–2024 it averaged 24 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 100 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 10th of 232 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 7 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -7°F on February 15, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
Most freezing nights fall from December to February, 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 1 and end around Apr 11.
Castro gets fewer downpours than most Texas counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 19.2 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 3.3 days of an inch or more (198th of 232). Those downpours cluster in June, July and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.73 inches on October 2, 2019. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.1 inches, ending October 4, 2019, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 93 days a year. Each cycle melts and refreezes water at roof edges and in foundation cracks, which is how ice dams and basement seepage get started.
Housing
Roughly 69% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Castro among the oldest housing stocks of Texas's 232 counties.
Before 1960 is when 38% 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.
15% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, close to the Texas county median of 13.4%. Their water lines run under the floor behind the skirting, so a torn skirt or failed heat tape freezes them faster than lines in a site-built house.
The Census counted 20% of homes as vacant, above the Texas county median of 16.6%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Renters occupy 36% 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
Castro County averages 43 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, Castro County homes break down as 54% utility gas, 38% electric, 7% propane and under 1% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Castro County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Deaf Smith and Parmer get more pipe-freeze nights than Castro. Swisher County has the oldest housing nearby, with 83% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Castro | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 38% | 20% | 30 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 69% | 46% | 29 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 11% | 26% | 206 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 15% | 13% | 99 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 20% | 17% | 75 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 7.4% | 6.5% | 106 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 24/yr | 3/yr | 10 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 3.3/yr | 7.8/yr | 198 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 93/yr | 27/yr | 12 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 43/yr | 129/yr | 225 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 Castro County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in June, July 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