Moore County, Texas · Dumas
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With 25% of homes built before 1960 and about 23 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 2.4 times a year here, most often in July. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Moore County gets about 2.4 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Moore County, 3.03 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
1% of occupied homes in Moore County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Texas county median of 6.5%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 55 times a year in Moore County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Moore County covers 900 square miles of northern Texas, with about 21,373 residents and 8,277 homes. The county seat is Dumas, and Cactus and Sunray round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1975, half after.
51/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Moore County ranks 113 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Moore County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Moore County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Texas. From 2015–2024 it averaged 23 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 103 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 12th of 232 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 10 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -11°F on February 15, 2021.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs November to February. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 1 and end around Apr 6.
Moore gets fewer downpours than most Texas counties, but they still fill basements. About 2.4 days a year bring an inch or more (214th of 232), most often in July, out of 18.5 inches of total precipitation. On October 22, 2015, 3.03 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 3.81 inches, ending October 22, 2015, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 96 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
Roughly 60% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Moore among the oldest housing stocks of Texas's 232 counties.
Before 1960 is when 25% of these homes went up. Galvanized supply lines and cast iron drains were standard then, and after 60-plus years both corrode and crack, often out of sight inside a wall or under a slab.
12% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, close to 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.
Renters occupy 38% 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
Moore County averages 55 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in May. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30 to 50%. Basements can pass 60% on their own in summer, so a dehumidifier matters even without a leak, and anything wet should be dried within 24 to 48 hours.
Mold remediation: what to expectBy main heating fuel, Moore County homes break down as 61% utility gas, 36% electric, 1% 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 Moore County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Hartley, Oldham and Sherman get more pipe-freeze nights than Moore. Carson County has the oldest housing nearby, with 76% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Moore | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 25% | 20% | 81 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 60% | 46% | 48 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 21% | 26% | 156 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 12% | 13% | 141 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 14% | 17% | 150 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 1% | 6.5% | 227 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 23/yr | 3/yr | 12 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 2.4/yr | 7.8/yr | 214 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 96/yr | 27/yr | 9 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 55/yr | 129/yr | 221 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 Moore County: freezing from November to February, heavy rain in July, August and October.
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