Limestone County, Texas · Groesbeck
Water spreading, a burst pipe, sewage, mold or smoke? Call to be connected with a restoration company that serves Mexia, Groesbeck and Coolidge. Start the steps below while you wait.
Answered 24/7 by a participating local provider. We're a referral service and don't do the work ourselves. How it works
Start here
Pick the closest match. These steps limit the damage and protect your insurance claim. Skip anything that isn't safe.
With 18% 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.
Basements flood here mostly in May. Limestone County averages 12 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
18% 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.
Limestone County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 6.06 inches, and about 22 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
10% of occupied homes in Limestone County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Texas county median of 6.5%.
About 140 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
Limestone County covers 905 square miles of eastern Texas, with about 22,283 residents and 10,443 homes. Groesbeck is the county seat; Mexia, Coolidge and Thornton are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1983, half after.
52/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Limestone County ranks 107 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Limestone County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Limestone 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.
The longest cold spell was straight 8 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about 1°F on February 16, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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 1°F on February 16, 2021.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Texas. Of roughly 41.7 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 12 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 71st of 232. January, April and May see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 6.06 inches, October 24, 2015. The worst three-day stretch dropped 9.16 inches, ending October 25, 2015, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 22 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
45% of homes in Limestone County predate 1980, close to the Texas county median of 45.8%, which ranks 122nd of Texas's 232 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 18% of homes are pre-1960 and 26% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 29% of the county's homes. If yours is from those decades, look under the sinks and at the water heater for gray plastic pipe stamped PB, which is polybutylene and leak-prone.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 19% 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.
With 20% of homes empty at survey time, landlords and seasonal owners should shut off the main or schedule checks in winter. An unheated vacant house is also where many policies limit freeze coverage.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 140 times a year here, close to the Texas county median of 129. 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 Limestone County's occupied homes: 23% utility gas, 67% electric, 9% propane and 1% wood. Propane 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 Limestone County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Hill and Navarro get more pipe-freeze nights than Limestone. Falls County has the oldest housing nearby, with 60% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Limestone | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 18% | 20% | 128 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 45% | 46% | 122 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 26% | 26% | 121 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 19% | 13% | 60 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 20% | 17% | 82 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 10% | 6.5% | 70 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 2/yr | 3/yr | 126 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 12/yr | 7.8/yr | 71 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 22/yr | 27/yr | 135 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 140/yr | 129/yr | 82 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 Limestone County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in January, 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