Franklin County, Texas · Mount Vernon
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Franklin County averages 3 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly January, and 11% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 14.5 times a year here, most often in April. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Franklin County gets about 14.5 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 33 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
6% of occupied homes in Franklin 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 118 times a year in Franklin County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
With 5,121 homes and around 10,632 residents, Franklin County is 284 square miles of northeast Texas. Mount Vernon is the county seat. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1988.
48/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Franklin County ranks 137 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Franklin County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
For frozen pipes, Franklin County is a typical Texas county, which is still plenty. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 3 nights a year at or below 20°F (94th of 232) and 35 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about -3°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 7 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
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 3.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Texas. About 14.5 days a year bring an inch or more (38th of 232), most often in April, out of 51.7 inches of total precipitation. On December 28, 2015, 5.84 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 7.33 inches (through September 24, 2018).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 33 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
Roughly 34% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Franklin among the newer housing stocks of Texas's 232 counties.
The mix runs from 11% built before 1960 to 29% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
About 37% 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 12% 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.
24% 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
About 118 nights a year in Franklin County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (153rd of 232 counties). April is the wettest month. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Franklin County's occupied homes: 17% utility gas, 77% electric, 6% 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 Franklin County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Delta, Hopkins, Red River and Titus get more pipe-freeze nights than Franklin. Delta County has the oldest housing nearby, with 50% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Franklin | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 11% | 20% | 184 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 34% | 46% | 179 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 29% | 26% | 98 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 12% | 13% | 141 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 24% | 17% | 52 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 5.8% | 6.5% | 132 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 3/yr | 3/yr | 94 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 15/yr | 7.8/yr | 38 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 33/yr | 27/yr | 87 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 118/yr | 129/yr | 153 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 Franklin County: freezing from January, heavy rain in March, April and May.
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