Madison County, Texas · Madisonville
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Pipes freeze in Madison County on about 1 night a year, mostly midwinter. Older homes, 19% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 13.7 times a year here, most often in May. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Madison County gets about 13.7 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. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
9% of occupied homes in Madison County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Texas county median of 6.5%.
With 148 muggy nights a year, mold in Madison County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 13,648 people live in Madison County, 466 square miles in eastern Texas, in roughly 5,107 homes. Madisonville is the county seat; Midway is the next largest community. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1985.
52/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Madison County ranks 108 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Madison County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Madison County is milder than most of Texas, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. From 2015–2024 it averaged 1 night a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 19 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 159th of 232 counties.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about 4°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 5 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
With only about 19 freezing nights a year, many homes here aren't built for cold, so a single arctic outbreak can burst pipes across the county. The record low in this data was about 4°F, on February 16, 2021.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Texas. The county gets about 48.3 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 13.7 days of an inch or more (49th of 232). Those downpours cluster in April, May and December, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 5.39 inches on May 27, 2016. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 9.66 inches (through August 29, 2017).
Housing
Texas's 232 counties range widely in housing age; Madison ranks 141st, with 42% of its homes built before 1980.
32% of homes were built in 2000 or later, more than in most of Texas. Newer plumbing rarely corrodes, so damage here tends to come from appliance supply lines, water heaters, sump pumps and storms.
About 26% 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 21% 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.
Beyond water
Madison County averages 148 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in May. 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 Madison County it's 13% utility gas, 78% electric, 8% propane and under 1% wood. Heating equipment, cooking and electrical failures cause most home fires nationally. Even a small kitchen fire can leave soot through the whole house, because smoke follows air currents into closets, ducts and attic space.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Madison County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Houston and Leon get more pipe-freeze nights than Madison. Houston County has the oldest housing nearby, with 48% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Madison | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 19% | 20% | 117 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 42% | 46% | 141 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 32% | 26% | 73 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 21% | 13% | 46 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 17% | 17% | 103 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 8.9% | 6.5% | 83 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 1/yr | 3/yr | 159 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 14/yr | 7.8/yr | 49 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 18/yr | 27/yr | 156 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 148/yr | 129/yr | 68 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 Madison County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in April, May and December.
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