Lynn County, Texas · Tahoka
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Lynn County averages 9 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 38% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 3.9 times a year here, most often in September. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Lynn County gets about 3.9 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 58 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
13% of occupied homes in Lynn County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Texas county median of 6.5%.
With 83 muggy nights a year, mold in Lynn County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 2,521 homes and around 5,752 residents, Lynn County is 892 square miles of northern Texas. Besides Tahoka, the county seat, the biggest communities are O'Donnell, Wilson and New Home. The county's median home was built in 1966.
58/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Lynn County ranks 61 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Lynn County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Lynn is on the colder side of Texas for pipes. From 2015–2024 it averaged 9 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 63 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 34th of 232 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 9 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about 0°F on February 15, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
Most freezing nights fall from December to February, peaking in January. Disconnect garden hoses and shut off outdoor spigots before the first hard frost, and keep the heat at 55°F or higher if you'll be away.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 11 and the last spring freeze around Mar 27.
Lynn gets fewer downpours than most Texas counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 19 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 3.9 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 189th of 232. May, June and September see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 5.11 inches, May 5, 2015. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 5.58 inches (through May 6, 2015).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 58 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
Roughly 71% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Lynn among the oldest housing stocks of Texas's 232 counties.
38% 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.
Beyond water
About 83 nights a year in Lynn County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (200th 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 expectMain heating fuel in Lynn County's occupied homes: 38% utility gas, 49% electric, 13% propane and under 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 Lynn County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Lubbock and Terry get more pipe-freeze nights than Lynn. Dawson County has the oldest housing nearby, with 80% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Lynn | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 38% | 20% | 31 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 71% | 46% | 24 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 16% | 26% | 187 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 5.7% | 13% | 201 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 17% | 17% | 114 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 13% | 6.5% | 52 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 9/yr | 3/yr | 34 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 3.9/yr | 7.8/yr | 189 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 58/yr | 27/yr | 35 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 83/yr | 129/yr | 200 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 Lynn County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in May, June and September.
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