Potter County, Texas · Amarillo
Water spreading, a burst pipe, sewage, mold or smoke? Call to be connected with a restoration company that serves Amarillo, Bushland and Bishop Hills. Start the steps below while you wait.
Answered 24/7 by a participating local provider. We're a referral service and don't do the work ourselves. How it works
Start here
Pick the closest match. These steps limit the damage and protect your insurance claim. Skip anything that isn't safe.
With 45% of homes built before 1960 and about 21 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 3.3 times a year here, most often in June. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Potter County gets about 3.3 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Potter County, 2.99 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
2% of occupied homes in Potter County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Texas county median of 6.5%.
About 62 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
Potter County covers 908 square miles of northern Texas, with about 115,975 residents and 49,390 homes. The county seat is Amarillo, and Bushland and Bishop Hills round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1963, half after.
62/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Potter County ranks 32 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Potter County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Potter County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Texas. From 2015–2024 it averaged 21 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 97 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 13th of 232 counties.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about -8°F, and in the stretch ending February 2021 the county went 7 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Most freezing nights fall from December to February, peaking in January. Disconnect garden hoses and shut off outdoor spigots before the first hard frost, and keep the heat at 55°F or higher if you'll be away.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 2 and end around Apr 3.
Potter gets fewer downpours than most Texas counties, but they still fill basements. About 3.3 days a year bring an inch or more (198th of 232), most often in June, out of 18.9 inches of total precipitation. On October 22, 2015, 2.99 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 3.85 inches, ending October 4, 2019, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 90 days a year swing from below freezing at night to above freezing by day. Those freeze-thaw cycles feed ice dams on roofs, open cracks in foundations and driveways, and stress pipes that are already marginal.
Housing
70% of homes in Potter County predate 1980, above the Texas county median of 45.8%, which ranks 28th of Texas's 232 counties.
45% 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.
8% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, below 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 43% 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
About 62 nights a year in Potter County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (214th of 232 counties). May 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Potter County it's 62% utility gas, 36% electric, 2% 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 Potter County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Moore and Oldham get more pipe-freeze nights than Potter. Carson County has the oldest housing nearby, with 76% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Potter | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 45% | 20% | 11 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 70% | 46% | 28 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 14% | 26% | 197 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 7.7% | 13% | 181 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 14% | 17% | 143 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 1.8% | 6.5% | 212 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 21/yr | 3/yr | 13 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 3.3/yr | 7.8/yr | 198 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 90/yr | 27/yr | 14 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 62/yr | 129/yr | 214 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 Potter County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in May, June and July.
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