Hopkins County, Texas · Sulphur Springs
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Pipes freeze in Hopkins County on about 4 nights a year, mostly midwinter. Older homes, 17% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in April. Hopkins County averages 13.6 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
17% 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.
Hopkins County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 5.5 inches, and about 30 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
11% of occupied homes in Hopkins County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Texas county median of 6.5%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 123 times a year in Hopkins County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Hopkins County covers 767 square miles of northeast Texas, with about 37,784 residents and 15,882 homes. The county seat is Sulphur Springs, and Cumby, Como and Tira round out the largest towns. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1985.
59/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Hopkins County ranks 52 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Hopkins County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Hopkins County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Texas. It averaged 32 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 4 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 68th.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about -3°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 8 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs midwinter. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 12 and end around Feb 26.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Texas. Of roughly 50.5 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 13.6 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 50th of 232. March, April and May see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 5.5 inches, October 24, 2015. The worst three-day stretch dropped 9.12 inches, ending October 25, 2015, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 30 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
43% of homes in Hopkins County predate 1980, close to the Texas county median of 45.8%, which ranks 135th of Texas's 232 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 17% predate 1960 and 30% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
27% 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 13% 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.
Beyond water
About 123 nights a year in Hopkins County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (136th of 232 counties). May is the wettest month. Mold grows when indoor humidity stays above about 60%, the EPA's ceiling. A basement dehumidifier set to 50% and drying anything wet within 24 to 48 hours prevents most problems.
Mold remediation: what to expectMain heating fuel in Hopkins County's occupied homes: 16% utility gas, 73% electric, 8% propane and 2% wood. Wood heat is above the Texas norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Hopkins County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Hopkins gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Delta County has the oldest housing nearby, with 50% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Hopkins | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 17% | 20% | 130 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 43% | 46% | 135 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 30% | 26% | 96 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 13% | 13% | 119 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 12% | 17% | 169 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 11% | 6.5% | 66 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 4/yr | 3/yr | 68 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 14/yr | 7.8/yr | 50 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 30/yr | 27/yr | 100 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 123/yr | 129/yr | 136 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 Hopkins County: freezing from midwinter, 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