Ector County, Texas · Odessa
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Pipes freeze in Ector County on about 4 nights a year, mostly January. Older homes, 22% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in June. Ector County averages 2.5 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Ector County spike on heavy-rain days, about 2.5 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Ector County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 1.99 inches, and about 41 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
4% of occupied homes in Ector 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 108 times a year in Ector County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 164,654 people live in Ector County, 898 square miles in western Texas, in roughly 68,899 homes. The county seat is Odessa, and West Odessa, Gardendale and Goldsmith round out the largest towns. The county's median home was built in 1984.
42/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Ector County ranks 176 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Ector County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Ector is on the colder side of Texas for pipes. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 4 nights a year at or below 20°F (68th of 232) and 43 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
The longest cold spell was straight 8 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about 3°F on February 15, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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 17 and the last spring freeze around Mar 1.
Ector gets fewer downpours than most Texas counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 12.5 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 2.5 days of an inch or more (213th of 232). Those downpours cluster in April, June and September, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 1.99 inches on August 1, 2017. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 3 inches (through June 29, 2021).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 41 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
Roughly 45% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Ector near the middle 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.
About 25% 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 17% 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.
Renters occupy 35% of homes. If you rent, the building is usually the landlord's to repair, but your belongings are only covered by renters insurance.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 108 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 Ector County it's 34% utility gas, 60% 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 Ector County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Andrews and Winkler get more pipe-freeze nights than Ector. Winkler County has the oldest housing nearby, with 74% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Ector | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 22% | 20% | 102 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 45% | 46% | 129 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 31% | 26% | 79 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 17% | 13% | 70 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 6.3% | 17% | 219 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 4.3% | 6.5% | 156 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 4/yr | 3/yr | 68 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 2.5/yr | 7.8/yr | 213 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 41/yr | 27/yr | 55 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 108/yr | 129/yr | 185 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 Ector County: freezing from January, heavy rain in April, June and September.
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