Culberson County, Texas · Van Horn
Water spreading, a burst pipe, sewage, mold or smoke? Call to be connected with a restoration company that serves Van Horn. Start the steps below while you wait.
Answered 24/7 by a participating local provider. We're a referral service and don't do the work ourselves. How it works
Start here
Pick the closest match. These steps limit the damage and protect your insurance claim. Skip anything that isn't safe.
Culberson County averages 4 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly January, and 22% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 0.6 times a year here, most often in August. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
22% 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.
In Culberson County, 1.7 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
9% of occupied homes in Culberson County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Texas county median of 6.5%.
About 74 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
With 1,097 homes and around 2,195 residents, Culberson County is 3,812 square miles of western Texas. The county seat is Van Horn. The county's median home was built in 1975.
39/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Culberson County ranks 196 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Culberson County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Culberson is on the colder side of Texas for pipes. It averaged 48 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 4 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 68th.
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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 12 and the last spring freeze around Mar 19.
Culberson gets fewer downpours than most Texas counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 10.6 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 0.6 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 229th of 232. May, June and August see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 1.7 inches, June 29, 2021. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 2.91 inches (through June 29, 2021).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 47 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
Texas's 232 counties range widely in housing age; Culberson ranks 55th, with 59% of its homes built before 1980.
The mix runs from 22% built before 1960 to 10% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
About 31% of homes went up between 1980 and 1999. Some houses from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s were plumbed with polybutylene, a gray plastic pipe known for failing at fittings. A plumber can tell you in a few minutes whether you have it.
23% 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.
With 21% of homes empty at survey time, landlords and seasonal owners should shut off the main or schedule checks in winter. An unheated vacant house is also where many policies limit freeze coverage.
Beyond water
About 74 nights a year in Culberson County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (205th of 232 counties). August is the wettest month. 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 Culberson County it's 44% utility gas, 42% electric, 9% propane and under 1% wood. Propane heat is more common here than in most Texas counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Culberson County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Culberson gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Culberson | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 22% | 20% | 101 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 59% | 46% | 55 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 9.8% | 26% | 210 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 23% | 13% | 31 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 21% | 17% | 70 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 9% | 6.5% | 82 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 4/yr | 3/yr | 68 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 0.6/yr | 7.8/yr | 229 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 47/yr | 27/yr | 42 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 74/yr | 129/yr | 205 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 Culberson County: freezing from January, 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