Robertson County, Texas · Franklin
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With 20% of homes built before 1960 and about 2 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 11.2 times a year here, most often in May. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Robertson County gets about 11.2 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Robertson County, 3.84 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
14% of occupied homes in Robertson County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Texas county median of 6.5%.
With 146 muggy nights a year, mold in Robertson County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 8,612 homes and around 17,167 residents, Robertson County is 855 square miles of eastern Texas. Franklin is the county seat; Hearne, Bremond and Calvert are the next largest communities. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1985.
54/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Robertson County ranks 90 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Robertson County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Robertson County sits near the middle of the state. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 2 nights a year at or below 20°F (126th of 232) and 20 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On February 16, 2021 the low fell to about 3°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.
Hard freezes are uncommon here, about 20 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 3°F on February 16, 2021.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Texas. Of roughly 41.7 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 11.2 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 75th of 232. January, April and May see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 3.84 inches, May 27, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 6.46 inches, ending October 25, 2015, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Housing
45% of homes in Robertson County predate 1980, close to the Texas county median of 45.8%, which ranks 122nd of Texas's 232 counties.
Growth since 2000 added 31% of today's homes. In houses that new, the weak points are washing machine hoses, ice maker lines, water heaters and sump pumps rather than the pipes in the walls.
25% date from 1980 to 1999, the window when polybutylene, a gray flexible plastic supply pipe, was used in some homes. It's prone to leaks at the fittings, so it's worth checking for in a house from those years.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 19% 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.
With 22% 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 146 times a year here, above the Texas county median of 129. Keep indoor humidity under 60%, as the EPA advises, and dry any leak within 24 to 48 hours; in a humid month a wet basement left alone won't dry by itself.
Mold remediation: what to expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Robertson County it's 25% utility gas, 61% electric, 12% propane and 1% wood. Propane heat is more common here than in most Texas counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Robertson County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Robertson gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Falls County has the oldest housing nearby, with 60% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Robertson | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 20% | 20% | 115 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 45% | 46% | 122 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 31% | 26% | 81 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 19% | 13% | 60 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 22% | 17% | 62 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 14% | 6.5% | 42 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 2/yr | 3/yr | 126 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 11/yr | 7.8/yr | 75 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 19/yr | 27/yr | 151 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 146/yr | 129/yr | 70 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 Robertson County: freezing from midwinter, heavy rain in January, April and May.
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