Swisher County, Texas · Tulia
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Swisher County averages 18 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly December to February, and 47% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 3.8 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 Swisher County gets about 3.8 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 84 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
5% of occupied homes in Swisher 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 59 times a year in Swisher County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Swisher County covers 890 square miles of northern Texas, with about 6,937 residents and 3,029 homes. Tulia is the county seat; Happy and Kress are the next largest communities. The county's median home was built in 1961.
62/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Swisher County ranks 33 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Swisher County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Swisher is on the colder side of Texas for pipes. It averaged 91 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 18 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 20th.
The longest cold spell was straight 7 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -6°F on February 15, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Nov 1 and the last spring freeze around Apr 7.
Swisher gets fewer downpours than most Texas counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 20.1 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 3.8 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 191st of 232. June, July and August see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.47 inches, October 22, 2015. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 3.36 inches (through July 9, 2015).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 84 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; Swisher ranks 4th, with 83% of its homes built before 1980.
47% 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.
21% of homes were vacant at survey time. A leak in an empty rental or seasonal house can run for days before anyone notices, which is why those losses tend to be larger.
Renters occupy 34% 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 59 nights a year in Swisher County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (217th of 232 counties). May is the wettest month. 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 Swisher County it's 64% utility gas, 30% electric, 5% 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 Swisher County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Castro and Randall get more pipe-freeze nights than Swisher. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Floyd County has the oldest housing nearby, with 85% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Swisher | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 47% | 20% | 8 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 83% | 46% | 4 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 6.6% | 26% | 225 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 5.2% | 13% | 205 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 21% | 17% | 69 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 4.9% | 6.5% | 142 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 18/yr | 3/yr | 20 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 3.8/yr | 7.8/yr | 191 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 84/yr | 27/yr | 20 of 232 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 59/yr | 129/yr | 217 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 Swisher County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in June, July and August.
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