Yoakum County, Texas · Plains
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With 26% of homes built before 1960 and about 14 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 2.4 times a year here, most often in August. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Yoakum County gets about 2.4 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Yoakum County, 3.03 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
4% of occupied homes in Yoakum County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Texas county median of 6.5%.
About 59 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
Yoakum County covers 800 square miles of northwest Texas, with about 7,571 residents and 3,028 homes. The county seat is Plains, and Denver City is the other large town. Half the homes here were built before 1977, half after.
49/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Yoakum County ranks 136 of 232 Texas counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Yoakum County ranks highest compared with other Texas counties.
Yoakum County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Texas. From 2015–2024 it averaged 14 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 81 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 27th of 232 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 7 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in February 2021. The coldest night reached about -1°F on February 15, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
The freeze season here runs December to February, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 2 and end around Mar 31.
Yoakum gets fewer downpours than most Texas counties, but they still fill basements. The county gets about 14.8 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 2.4 days of an inch or more (214th of 232). Those downpours cluster in July, August and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.03 inches on May 5, 2015. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.14 inches, ending August 31, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 76 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
57% of homes in Yoakum County predate 1980, above the Texas county median of 45.8%, which ranks 61st of Texas's 232 counties.
Before 1960 is when 26% of these homes went up. Galvanized supply lines and cast iron drains were standard then, and after 60-plus years both corrode and crack, often out of sight inside a wall or under a slab.
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 15% 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.
Renters occupy 33% 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
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 59 times a year here, below 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Yoakum County homes break down as 43% utility gas, 52% electric, 4% 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 Yoakum County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Cochran gets more pipe-freeze nights than Yoakum. Terry County has the oldest housing nearby, with 75% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Yoakum | Texas median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 26% | 20% | 77 of 232 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 57% | 46% | 61 of 232 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 18% | 26% | 171 of 232 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 15% | 13% | 101 of 232 |
| Vacant homes | 14% | 17% | 145 of 232 |
| Wood or propane heat | 4.4% | 6.5% | 152 of 232 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 14/yr | 3/yr | 27 of 232 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 2.4/yr | 7.8/yr | 214 of 232 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 76/yr | 27/yr | 25 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 Yoakum County: freezing from December to February, heavy rain in July, August 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