Comanche County, Texas · Comanche
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With 33% 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.
May brings the most downpours to Comanche County, part of 7.6 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
33% 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.
Comanche County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.89 inches, and about 31 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
15% of occupied homes in Comanche 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 123 times a year in Comanche County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Comanche County covers 938 square miles of central Texas, with about 13,950 residents and 6,940 homes. Comanche is the county seat; De Leon, Gustine and Proctor are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1977, half after.
63/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Comanche County ranks 21 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Comanche County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Comanche County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Texas. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 4 nights a year at or below 20°F (68th of 232) and 33 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about -2°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 8 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
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 19 and end around Mar 10.
Rainfall is about average for Texas. Of roughly 31.5 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 7.6 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 118th of 232. May, September and October see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.89 inches, September 3, 2024. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.13 inches, ending October 17, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 31 times a year here. They're the main driver of ice dams and of water working its way through foundation cracks in late winter.
Housing
54% of homes in Comanche County predate 1980, above the Texas county median of 45.8%, which ranks 78th of Texas's 232 counties.
Before 1960 is when 33% 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.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 23% 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.
14% 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 23% 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
Comanche County averages 123 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, Comanche County homes break down as 22% utility gas, 63% electric, 13% propane and 2% 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 Comanche 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 Comanche. Hamilton County has the oldest housing nearby, with 69% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Comanche | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 33% | 20% | 42 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 54% | 46% | 78 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 23% | 26% | 142 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 14% | 13% | 110 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 23% | 17% | 56 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 15% | 6.5% | 34 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 4/yr | 3/yr | 68 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 7.6/yr | 7.8/yr | 118 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 31/yr | 27/yr | 97 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 123/yr | 129/yr | 136 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 Comanche County: freezing from January, heavy rain in May, September 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