Collingsworth County, Texas · Wellington
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Pipes freeze in Collingsworth County on about 14 nights a year, mostly December to February. Older homes, 48% of the stock here, are most at risk.
May brings the most downpours to Collingsworth County, part of 5.8 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in Collingsworth County spike on heavy-rain days, about 5.8 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Collingsworth County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 2.4 inches, and about 71 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
5% of occupied homes in Collingsworth County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Texas county median of 6.5%.
About 86 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
Collingsworth County covers 918 square miles of northern Texas, with about 2,588 residents and 1,487 homes. Wellington is the county seat; Samnorwood, Dodson and Quail are the next largest communities. The county's median home was built in 1961.
66/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Collingsworth County ranks 11 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Collingsworth County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Collingsworth is on the colder side of Texas for pipes. It averaged 77 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 14 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 232 Texas counties that's 27th.
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 -5°F on February 16, 2021.
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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 7 and the last spring freeze around Mar 29.
Collingsworth gets fewer downpours than most Texas counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 24.1 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 5.8 days of an inch or more (157th of 232). Those downpours cluster in May, June and August, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.4 inches on September 26, 2017. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 3.94 inches (through October 9, 2018).
About 71 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
85% of homes in Collingsworth County predate 1980, above the Texas county median of 45.8%, which ranks 2nd of Texas's 232 counties.
In Collingsworth County 48% 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 Census counted 34% 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.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 86 times a year here, below the Texas county median of 129. 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Collingsworth County it's 55% utility gas, 40% electric, 4% propane and under 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 Collingsworth County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Donley and Wheeler get more pipe-freeze nights than Collingsworth. Hall County has the oldest housing nearby, with 89% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Collingsworth | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 48% | 20% | 7 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 85% | 46% | 2 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 6.4% | 26% | 226 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 3.8% | 13% | 216 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 34% | 17% | 6 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 4.5% | 6.5% | 147 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 14/yr | 3/yr | 27 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.8/yr | 7.8/yr | 157 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 71/yr | 27/yr | 27 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 86/yr | 129/yr | 198 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 Collingsworth County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in May, June and August.
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