Antrim County, Michigan · Bellaire
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Antrim County averages 62 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to April, and 24% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 4.1 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 Antrim County gets about 4.1 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 94 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
43% of occupied homes in Antrim 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 8 times a year in Antrim County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Antrim County covers 476 square miles of northern Lower Michigan, with about 24,127 residents and 17,723 homes. Bellaire is the county seat; Elk Rapids, Lakes of the North and Mancelona are the next largest communities. The county's median home was built in 1980.
46/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Antrim County ranks 50 of 83 Michigan counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Antrim County ranks highest compared with other Michigan counties.
For frozen pipes, Antrim County is a typical Michigan county, which is still plenty. It averaged 152 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 62 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 31st.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 41 days below freezing (ending March 2015), and the low bottomed out near -24°F on February 20, 2015.
The freeze season here runs November to April, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 17 and the last spring freeze around May 13.
Rainfall is about average for Michigan. About 4.1 days a year bring an inch or more (35th of 83), most often in October, out of 35.9 inches of total precipitation. On October 23, 2020, 2.72 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.95 inches (through October 25, 2017).
About 94 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 50% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Antrim among the newer housing stocks of Michigan's 83 counties.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 21% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
About 29% 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.
37% 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
About 8 nights a year in Antrim County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (44th of 83 counties). October 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 expectBy main heating fuel, Antrim County homes break down as 41% utility gas, 12% electric, 34% propane and 10% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than the state median. Have chimneys swept and fuel-burning appliances serviced each fall, and keep three feet clear around stoves and space heaters.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Antrim County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Kalkaska and Otsego get more pipe-freeze nights than Antrim. It also has the most heavy-rain days in its area. Kalkaska County has the oldest housing nearby, with 51% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Antrim | Michigan median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 24% | 32% | 66 of 83 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 50% | 58% | 69 of 83 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 21% | 16% | 13 of 83 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 5.9% | 7.3% | 53 of 83 |
| Vacant homes | 37% | 20% | 18 of 83 |
| Wood or propane heat | 43% | 29% | 21 of 83 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 62/yr | 54/yr | 31 of 83 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 4.1/yr | 3.9/yr | 35 of 83 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 94/yr | 95/yr | 45 of 83 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 8/yr | 10/yr | 44 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 Antrim County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in June, 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