Sherman County, Texas · Stratford
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Sherman County averages 28 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 39% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in July. Sherman County averages 1.9 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Sherman County spike on heavy-rain days, about 1.9 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 105 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
4% of occupied homes in Sherman County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Texas county median of 6.5%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 41 times a year in Sherman County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
With 1,135 homes and around 2,295 residents, Sherman County is 923 square miles of northern Texas. Stratford is the county seat; Texhoma is the next largest community. Half the homes here were built before 1966, half after.
58/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Sherman County ranks 62 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Sherman County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Sherman County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Texas. From 2015–2024 it averaged 28 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 111 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 3rd of 232 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 11 days below freezing (ending February 2021), and the low bottomed out near -14°F on February 15, 2021.
Most freezing nights fall from November to March, 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 Oct 30 and end around Apr 9.
Sherman gets fewer downpours than most Texas counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 17.8 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 1.9 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 221st of 232. March, June and July see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.98 inches, October 22, 2015. The worst three-day stretch dropped 3.89 inches, ending October 22, 2015, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 105 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 Sherman among the oldest housing stocks of Texas's 232 counties.
39% 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.
The Census counted 26% of homes as vacant, above the Texas county median of 16.6%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
Sherman County averages 41 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in July. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30 to 50%. Basements can pass 60% on their own in summer, so a dehumidifier matters even without a leak, and anything wet should be dried within 24 to 48 hours.
Mold remediation: what to expectMain heating fuel in Sherman County's occupied homes: 64% utility gas, 32% electric, 4% propane and under 1% wood. Most homes here heat with gas or electricity, so cooking and electrical faults are the likelier fire sources. Even a contained kitchen fire can send soot through the ductwork to every room.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Sherman County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Dallam gets more pipe-freeze nights than Sherman. Hansford County has the oldest housing nearby, with 72% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Sherman | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 39% | 20% | 27 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 68% | 46% | 34 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 19% | 26% | 164 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 5.8% | 13% | 200 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 26% | 17% | 38 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 4% | 6.5% | 161 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 28/yr | 3/yr | 3 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 1.9/yr | 7.8/yr | 221 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 105/yr | 27/yr | 3 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 41/yr | 129/yr | 227 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 Sherman County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in March, 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