Hemphill County, Texas · Canadian
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Hemphill County averages 21 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 34% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 5.5 times a year here, most often in May. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
34% 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 Hemphill County, 2.91 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
6% of occupied homes in Hemphill County heat mainly with wood or propane, close to the Texas county median of 6.5%.
About 71 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
About 3,234 people live in Hemphill County, 906 square miles in northern Texas, in roughly 1,763 homes. Canadian is the county seat; Glazier is the next largest community. The county's median home was built in 1975.
62/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Hemphill County ranks 29 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Hemphill County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Hemphill is on the colder side of Texas for pipes. It averaged 97 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 21 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 13th.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 11 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -8°F on February 15, 2021.
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 Oct 30 and the last spring freeze around Apr 5.
Hemphill gets fewer downpours than most Texas counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 23.6 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 5.5 days of an inch or more (160th of 232). Those downpours cluster in May, June and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.91 inches on October 22, 2015. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.26 inches (through October 9, 2018).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 91 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 59% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Hemphill among the oldest housing stocks of Texas's 232 counties.
34% were built before 1960. Homes from that era often still have galvanized steel supply pipe, which rusts from the inside until it pinholes, and cast iron drains that crack with age. Slow leaks behind walls are a common start to water damage in these houses.
23% 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.
Here 13% of housing is manufactured homes. Check the skirting and the heat tape on the main water line every fall, because that one exposed line is what freezes.
Beyond water
Hemphill County averages 71 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Hemphill County homes break down as 54% utility gas, 35% electric, 6% 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 Hemphill County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Lipscomb gets more pipe-freeze nights than Hemphill. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Lipscomb County has the oldest housing nearby, with 69% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Hemphill | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 34% | 20% | 41 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 59% | 46% | 59 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 18% | 26% | 169 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 13% | 13% | 123 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 16% | 17% | 118 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 6.2% | 6.5% | 121 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 21/yr | 3/yr | 13 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.5/yr | 7.8/yr | 160 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 91/yr | 27/yr | 13 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 71/yr | 129/yr | 208 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 Hemphill County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in May, June and October.
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