Donley County, Texas · Clarendon
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With 35% of homes built before 1960 and about 15 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
May brings the most downpours to Donley County, part of 4.7 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in Donley County spike on heavy-rain days, about 4.7 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Donley County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 2.46 inches, and about 74 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
6% of occupied homes in Donley County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Texas county median of 6.5%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 78 times a year in Donley County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Donley County covers 927 square miles of northern Texas, with about 3,257 residents and 1,951 homes. Besides Clarendon, the county seat, the biggest communities are Howardwick, Hedley and Lelia Lake. The county's median home was built in 1972.
60/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Donley County ranks 44 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Donley County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Donley is on the colder side of Texas for pipes. From 2015–2024 it averaged 15 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 80 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 25th of 232 counties.
On February 15, 2021 the low fell to about -5°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 10 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
The freeze season here runs December to February, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 4 and the last spring freeze around Apr 1.
Donley gets fewer downpours than most Texas counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 22.6 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 4.7 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 177th of 232. May, June and August see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.46 inches, May 23, 2016. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 3.42 inches (through December 15, 2023).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 74 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
Texas's 232 counties range widely in housing age; Donley ranks 39th, with 67% of its homes built before 1980.
In Donley County 35% 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 14% of the housing here. Water lines in the underbelly depend on intact skirting and working heat tape, and they're usually the first to freeze in a cold snap.
40% of homes were vacant at survey time. A leak in an empty rental or seasonal house can run for days before anyone notices, which is why those losses tend to be larger.
Beyond water
Donley County averages 78 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 Donley County it's 52% utility gas, 34% electric, 4% propane and 2% wood. Wood heat is 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 Donley County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Gray gets more pipe-freeze nights than Donley. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Hall County has the oldest housing nearby, with 89% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Donley | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 35% | 20% | 36 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 67% | 46% | 39 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 17% | 26% | 181 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 14% | 13% | 110 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 40% | 17% | 4 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 5.8% | 6.5% | 131 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 15/yr | 3/yr | 25 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 4.7/yr | 7.8/yr | 177 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 74/yr | 27/yr | 26 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 78/yr | 129/yr | 202 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 Donley 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