Lamar County, Texas · Paris
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Pipes freeze in Lamar County on about 4 nights a year, mostly January. Older homes, 12% of the stock here, are most at risk.
April brings the most downpours to Lamar County, part of 15.8 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in Lamar County spike on heavy-rain days, about 15.8 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Lamar County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 4.36 inches, and about 39 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
16% of occupied homes in Lamar County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Texas county median of 6.5%.
About 119 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 50,669 people live in Lamar County, 907 square miles in northeast Texas, in roughly 22,824 homes. The county seat is Paris, and Reno, Blossom and Powderly round out the largest towns. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1987.
54/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Lamar County ranks 86 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Lamar County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Lamar is on the colder side of Texas for pipes. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 4 nights a year at or below 20°F (68th of 232) and 41 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
The longest cold spell was straight 9 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -4°F on February 16, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
The freeze season here runs January, 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 12 and the last spring freeze around Mar 9.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Texas. The county gets about 53.5 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 15.8 days of an inch or more (25th of 232). Those downpours cluster in April, May and June, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 4.36 inches on December 28, 2015. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 8.11 inches (through September 24, 2018).
About 39 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
Roughly 38% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Lamar among the newer housing stocks of Texas's 232 counties.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 12% 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.
About 32% 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 7% 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.
Renters occupy 34% of homes. If you rent, the building is usually the landlord's to repair, but your belongings are only covered by renters insurance.
Beyond water
About 119 nights a year in Lamar County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (149th of 232 counties). May 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Lamar County it's 22% utility gas, 62% electric, 15% propane and under 1% wood. Propane heat is more common here than in most Texas counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Lamar County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Lamar gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Delta County has the oldest housing nearby, with 50% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Lamar | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 12% | 20% | 178 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 38% | 46% | 162 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 30% | 26% | 92 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 7.1% | 13% | 188 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 12% | 17% | 163 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 16% | 6.5% | 26 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 4/yr | 3/yr | 68 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 16/yr | 7.8/yr | 25 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 39/yr | 27/yr | 64 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 119/yr | 129/yr | 149 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 Lamar County: freezing from January, heavy rain in April, May and June.
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