Leon County, Texas · Centerville
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With 10% of homes built before 1960 and about 2 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
May brings the most downpours to Leon County, part of 14.2 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Leon County gets about 14.2 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Leon County, 3.83 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
24% of occupied homes in Leon 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 141 times a year in Leon County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 16,263 people live in Leon County, 1,073 square miles in eastern Texas, in roughly 9,067 homes. Besides Centerville, the county seat, the biggest communities are Buffalo, Jewett and Normangee. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1991.
47/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Leon County ranks 147 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Leon County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Leon County sits near the middle of the state. From 2015–2024 it averaged 2 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 23 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 126th of 232 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 7 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near 2°F on February 16, 2021.
Hard freezes are uncommon here, about 23 nights a year at or below 32°F, and that's exactly why they do damage: pipes in attics, exterior walls and slab-edge plumbing are rarely insulated. The coldest night in the record was about 2°F on February 16, 2021.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Texas. The county gets about 47 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 14.2 days of an inch or more (44th of 232). Those downpours cluster in March, April and May, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.83 inches on May 27, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.16 inches, ending January 25, 2024, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 22 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 30% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Leon among the newer housing stocks of Texas's 232 counties.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 35% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
About 35% 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.
37% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, above 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.
The Census counted 26% 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
About 141 nights a year in Leon County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (80th 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Leon County it's 8% utility gas, 68% electric, 21% propane and 3% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than the state median. Have chimneys swept and fuel-burning appliances serviced each fall, and keep three feet clear around stoves and space heaters.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Leon County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Leon gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Houston County has the oldest housing nearby, with 48% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Leon | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 10% | 20% | 189 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 30% | 46% | 193 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 35% | 26% | 57 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 37% | 13% | 3 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 26% | 17% | 38 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 24% | 6.5% | 4 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 2/yr | 3/yr | 126 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 14/yr | 7.8/yr | 44 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 22/yr | 27/yr | 135 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 141/yr | 129/yr | 80 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 Leon 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