Hutchinson County, Texas · Stinnett
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Hutchinson County averages 19 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 35% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Hutchinson County averages 3.6 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Hutchinson County gets about 3.6 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 87 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
2% of occupied homes in Hutchinson County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Texas county median of 6.5%.
With 72 muggy nights a year, mold in Hutchinson County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
Hutchinson County covers 887 square miles of northern Texas, with about 20,184 residents and 10,170 homes. Stinnett is the county seat; Borger, Fritch and Lake Meredith Estates are the next largest communities. The county's median home was built in 1969.
59/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Hutchinson County ranks 53 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Hutchinson County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Hutchinson is on the colder side of Texas for pipes. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 19 nights a year at or below 20°F (19th of 232) and 92 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
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 -9°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 Nov 2 and the last spring freeze around Apr 2.
Hutchinson gets fewer downpours than most Texas counties, but they still fill basements. About 3.6 days a year bring an inch or more (193rd of 232), most often in May, out of 20.8 inches of total precipitation. On October 22, 2015, 2.83 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 3.28 inches (through October 22, 2015).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 87 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 68% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Hutchinson among the oldest housing stocks of Texas's 232 counties.
35% 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.
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.
Here 8% 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.
The Census counted 31% of homes as vacant, above the Texas county median of 16.6%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 72 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, Hutchinson County homes break down as 70% utility gas, 28% electric, 2% 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 Hutchinson County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Every neighboring county gets more pipe-freeze nights than Hutchinson. Carson County has the oldest housing nearby, with 76% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Hutchinson | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 35% | 20% | 35 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 68% | 46% | 35 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 7.8% | 26% | 220 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 7.7% | 13% | 181 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 31% | 17% | 14 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 2.2% | 6.5% | 202 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 19/yr | 3/yr | 19 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 3.6/yr | 7.8/yr | 193 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 87/yr | 27/yr | 17 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 72/yr | 129/yr | 207 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 Hutchinson County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in May, June and August.
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