Palo Pinto County, Texas · Palo Pinto
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With 24% of homes built before 1960 and about 5 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Basements flood here mostly in October. Palo Pinto County averages 8.8 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Palo Pinto County spike on heavy-rain days, about 8.8 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Palo Pinto County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.49 inches, and about 38 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
9% of occupied homes in Palo Pinto County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Texas county median of 6.5%.
About 123 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
Palo Pinto County covers 953 square miles of central Texas, with about 29,295 residents and 15,206 homes. Besides Palo Pinto, the county seat, the biggest communities are Graford, Strawn and Gordon. The county's median home was built in 1979.
62/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Palo Pinto County ranks 31 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Palo Pinto County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Palo Pinto is on the colder side of Texas for pipes. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 5 nights a year at or below 20°F (54th of 232) and 41 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
The longest cold spell was straight 10 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -5°F on February 16, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs January. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 15 and the last spring freeze around Mar 11.
Rainfall is about average for Texas. The county gets about 34.7 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 8.8 days of an inch or more (101st of 232). Those downpours cluster in April, May and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.49 inches on September 2, 2020. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 6.37 inches (through November 29, 2015).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 38 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
Texas's 232 counties range widely in housing age; Palo Pinto ranks 87th, with 52% of its homes built before 1980.
24% 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.
16% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, above 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.
With 26% 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 123 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Palo Pinto County homes break down as 31% utility gas, 58% 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 Palo Pinto County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Jack, Stephens and Young get more pipe-freeze nights than Palo Pinto. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Eastland County has the oldest housing nearby, with 65% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Palo Pinto | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 24% | 20% | 84 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 52% | 46% | 87 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 27% | 26% | 108 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 16% | 13% | 82 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 26% | 17% | 35 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 8.7% | 6.5% | 86 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 5/yr | 3/yr | 54 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 8.8/yr | 7.8/yr | 101 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 38/yr | 27/yr | 71 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 123/yr | 129/yr | 136 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 Palo Pinto County: freezing from January, heavy rain in April, May 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