Hartley County, Texas · Channing
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Pipes freeze in Hartley County on about 31 nights a year, mostly November to March. Older homes, 26% of the stock here, are most at risk.
July brings the most downpours to Hartley County, part of 2 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in Hartley County spike on heavy-rain days, about 2 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Hartley County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 2.57 inches, and about 112 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
4% of occupied homes in Hartley 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 28 times a year in Hartley County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Hartley County covers 1,462 square miles of northwest Texas, with about 5,215 residents and 1,814 homes. Channing is the county seat; Dalhart and Hartley are the next largest communities. The county's median home was built in 1979.
52/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Hartley County ranks 103 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Hartley County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Hartley is on the colder side of Texas for pipes. It averaged 118 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 31 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 2nd.
On February 15, 2021 the low fell to about -12°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.
The freeze season here runs November to March, 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 Oct 26 and the last spring freeze around Apr 15.
Hartley gets fewer downpours than most Texas counties, but they still fill basements. About 2 days a year bring an inch or more (220th of 232), most often in July, out of 16.5 inches of total precipitation. On October 22, 2015, 2.57 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 3.4 inches (through July 30, 2022).
About 112 days a year swing from below freezing at night to above freezing by day. Those freeze-thaw cycles feed ice dams on roofs, open cracks in foundations and driveways, and stress pipes that are already marginal.
Housing
52% of homes in Hartley County predate 1980, above the Texas county median of 45.8%, which ranks 86th of Texas's 232 counties.
Before 1960 is when 26% 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.
33% date from 1980 to 1999, the window when polybutylene, a gray flexible plastic supply pipe, was used in some homes. It's prone to leaks at the fittings, so it's worth checking for in a house from those years.
12% 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.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 28 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Hartley County homes break down as 67% utility gas, 28% electric, 3% propane and under 1% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Hartley County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Dallam gets more pipe-freeze nights than Hartley. Oldham County has the oldest housing nearby, with 71% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Hartley | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 26% | 20% | 74 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 52% | 46% | 86 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 15% | 26% | 192 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 12% | 13% | 139 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 10% | 17% | 192 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 3.8% | 6.5% | 173 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 31/yr | 3/yr | 2 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 2/yr | 7.8/yr | 220 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 112/yr | 27/yr | 2 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 28/yr | 129/yr | 231 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 Hartley County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in May, July 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