Cherokee County, Texas · Rusk
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With 18% of homes built before 1960 and about 2 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Basements flood here mostly in April. Cherokee County averages 16 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
18% of homes here predate 1960, when clay and cast iron sewer laterals were standard. Roots and cracks in those lines are a common cause of backups.
Cherokee County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.66 inches.
13% of occupied homes in Cherokee County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Texas county median of 6.5%.
About 136 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
Cherokee County covers 1,053 square miles of eastern Texas, with about 51,886 residents and 21,053 homes. Rusk is the county seat; Jacksonville, Shadybrook and Alto are the next largest communities. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1987.
57/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Cherokee County ranks 64 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Cherokee County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Cherokee County sits near the middle of the state. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 2 nights a year at or below 20°F (126th of 232) and 20 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
The longest cold spell was straight 5 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -1°F on February 16, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
Hard freezes are uncommon here, about 20 nights a year at or below 32°F, and that's exactly why they do damage: pipes in attics, exterior walls and slab-edge plumbing are rarely insulated. The coldest night in the record was about -1°F on February 16, 2021.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Texas. About 16 days a year bring an inch or more (22nd of 232), most often in April, out of 52 inches of total precipitation. On May 2, 2019, 3.66 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.69 inches, ending January 25, 2024, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Housing
38% of homes in Cherokee County predate 1980, below the Texas county median of 45.8%, which ranks 161st of Texas's 232 counties.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 31% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 31% 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.
19% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, above 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.
Beyond water
Cherokee County averages 136 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Cherokee County it's 23% utility gas, 62% electric, 10% propane and 3% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than the state median. Have chimneys swept and fuel-burning appliances serviced each fall, and keep three feet clear around stoves and space heaters.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Cherokee County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Henderson and Smith get more pipe-freeze nights than Cherokee. Rusk County has the oldest housing nearby, with 49% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Cherokee | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 18% | 20% | 122 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 38% | 46% | 161 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 31% | 26% | 78 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 19% | 13% | 59 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 14% | 17% | 149 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 13% | 6.5% | 46 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 2/yr | 3/yr | 126 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 16/yr | 7.8/yr | 22 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 19/yr | 27/yr | 151 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 136/yr | 129/yr | 97 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 Cherokee County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in March, April and May.
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