Alger County, Michigan · Munising
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Alger County averages 89 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to April, and 32% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 3.8 times a year here, most often in October. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Alger 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 97 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
48% of occupied homes in Alger County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Michigan county median of 29%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about once a year in Alger County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
With 6,217 homes and around 8,762 residents, Alger County is 915 square miles of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Besides Munising, the county seat, the biggest communities are Grand Marais and Chatham. The county's median home was built in 1974.
54/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Alger County ranks 33 of 83 Michigan counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Alger County ranks highest compared with other Michigan counties.
Alger is on the colder side of Michigan for pipes. It averaged 175 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 89 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 83 Michigan counties that's 10th.
On February 20, 2015 the low fell to about -23°F, and in the stretch ending March 2015 the county went 41 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Most freezing nights fall from November to April, 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 Oct 16 and the last spring freeze around May 19.
Rainfall is about average for Michigan. Of roughly 38.5 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 3.8 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 44th of 83. May, July and October see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.21 inches, October 18, 2016. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 3.7 inches (through May 2, 2023).
About 97 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
Roughly 59% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Alger near the middle of Michigan's 83 counties.
The mix runs from 32% built before 1960 to 18% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
About 23% of homes went up between 1980 and 1999. Some houses from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s were plumbed with polybutylene, a gray plastic pipe known for failing at fittings. A plumber can tell you in a few minutes whether you have it.
43% 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.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about once a year here, below the Michigan county median of 10. 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Alger County homes break down as 43% utility gas, 6% electric, 35% propane and 13% wood. Wood and propane heat are above the Michigan norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Alger County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Keweenaw, Luce and Marquette get more pipe-freeze nights than Alger. Marquette County has the oldest housing nearby, with 68% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Alger | Michigan median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 32% | 32% | 42 of 83 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 59% | 58% | 39 of 83 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 18% | 16% | 31 of 83 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 6.7% | 7.3% | 48 of 83 |
| Vacant homes | 43% | 20% | 8 of 83 |
| Wood or propane heat | 48% | 29% | 12 of 83 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 89/yr | 54/yr | 10 of 83 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 3.8/yr | 3.9/yr | 44 of 83 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 97/yr | 95/yr | 36 of 83 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 1/yr | 10/yr | 77 of 83 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Michigan county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Alger County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in May, July 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