Parmer County, Texas · Farwell
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Parmer County averages 25 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to February, and 24% of its homes predate 1960.
October brings the most downpours to Parmer County, part of 3.7 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
24% of homes here predate 1960, when clay and cast iron sewer laterals were standard. Roots and cracks in those lines are a common cause of backups.
In Parmer County, 2.36 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
5% of occupied homes in Parmer County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Texas county median of 6.5%.
With 36 muggy nights a year, mold in Parmer County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
About 9,731 people live in Parmer County, 881 square miles in northwest Texas, in roughly 3,745 homes. Farwell is the county seat; Friona and Bovina are the next largest communities. The county's median home was built in 1973.
53/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Parmer County ranks 98 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Parmer County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Parmer is on the colder side of Texas for pipes. It averaged 102 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 25 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 232 Texas counties that's 7th.
The longest cold spell was straight 7 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -7°F on February 15, 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 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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 30 and the last spring freeze around Apr 11.
Parmer gets fewer downpours than most Texas counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 18.7 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 3.7 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 192nd of 232. June, July and October see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.36 inches, October 2, 2019. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.24 inches (through October 3, 2019).
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 68% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Parmer among the oldest housing stocks of Texas's 232 counties.
In Parmer County 24% of homes are older than 1960. If yours is one of them and the plumbing has never been replaced, expect galvanized steel supply pipe and cast iron drain lines, the two materials most likely to fail quietly.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 10% 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
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 36 times a year here, below 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Parmer County it's 58% utility gas, 36% electric, 5% 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 Parmer County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Bailey and Deaf Smith get more pipe-freeze nights than Parmer. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Lamb County has the oldest housing nearby, with 76% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Parmer | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 24% | 20% | 84 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 68% | 46% | 35 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 14% | 26% | 196 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 10% | 13% | 157 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 14% | 17% | 145 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 4.5% | 6.5% | 147 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 25/yr | 3/yr | 7 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 3.7/yr | 7.8/yr | 192 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 96/yr | 27/yr | 9 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 36/yr | 129/yr | 229 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 Parmer County: freezing from November to February, heavy rain in June, July 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