Orange County, Texas · Orange
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With 16% of homes built before 1960 and about 1 hard-freeze night a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
May brings the most downpours to Orange County, part of 17.7 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Orange County gets about 17.7 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Orange County, 9.96 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
3% of occupied homes in Orange County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Texas county median of 6.5%.
About 170 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
About 85,307 people live in Orange County, 334 square miles in eastern Texas, in roughly 37,937 homes. Besides Orange, the county seat, the biggest communities are Vidor, Bridge City and West Orange. Half the homes here were built before 1983, half after.
54/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Orange County ranks 89 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Orange County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Texas, and pipes still freeze. 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 7 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 159th of 232 counties.
Hard freezes are uncommon here, about 7 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 15°F on February 16, 2021.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Texas. Of roughly 67.6 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 17.7 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 7th of 232. May, June and August see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 9.96 inches, August 28, 2017. The worst three-day stretch dropped 24.82 inches, ending August 30, 2017, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Housing
Texas's 232 counties range widely in housing age; Orange ranks 115th, with 46% of its homes built before 1980.
Older and newer homes sit side by side here: 16% predate 1960 and 30% are from 2000 or later. Corroded pipe is the typical failure in the first group, burst supply hoses in the second.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 24% 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.
Here 17% of housing is manufactured homes. Check the skirting and the heat tape on the main water line every fall, because that one exposed line is what freezes.
Beyond water
About 170 nights a year in Orange County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (38th of 232 counties). August 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Orange County homes break down as 28% utility gas, 67% electric, 3% propane and under 1% wood. Fires here are likelier to start in the kitchen or the wiring than in the furnace. After any fire, keep the HVAC off until ducts are checked, or soot will travel through the house.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Orange County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Orange gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Jefferson County has the oldest housing nearby, with 54% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Orange | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 16% | 20% | 148 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 46% | 46% | 115 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 30% | 26% | 90 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 17% | 13% | 75 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 15% | 17% | 137 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 3.3% | 6.5% | 183 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 1/yr | 3/yr | 159 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 18/yr | 7.8/yr | 7 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 7/yr | 27/yr | 196 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 170/yr | 129/yr | 38 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 Orange County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in May, June and August.
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