Baraga County, Michigan · L'Anse
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Baraga County averages 102 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly October to April, and 35% 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 Baraga County gets about 3.8 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Baraga County, 2.08 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
42% of occupied homes in Baraga 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 Baraga County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Baraga County covers 898 square miles of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, with about 8,191 residents and 5,051 homes. L'Anse is the county seat; Baraga, Zeba and Three Lakes are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1973, half after.
61/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Baraga County ranks 15 of 83 Michigan counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Baraga County ranks highest compared with other Michigan counties.
Baraga County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Michigan. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 102 nights a year at or below 20°F (3rd of 83) and 188 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 45 days below freezing (ending February 2019), and the low bottomed out near -28°F on February 20, 2015.
The freeze season here runs October 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.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 4 and end around May 23.
Rainfall is about average for Michigan. The county gets about 35.9 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 3.8 days of an inch or more (44th of 83). Those downpours cluster in June, August and September, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.08 inches on August 21, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 3.71 inches, ending May 2, 2023, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 99 times a year here. They're the main driver of ice dams and of water working its way through foundation cracks in late winter.
Housing
Michigan's 83 counties range widely in housing age; Baraga ranks 29th, with 64% of its homes built before 1980.
Housing age is mixed: 35% of homes are pre-1960 and 13% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
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.
Here 9% of housing is manufactured homes. Check the skirting and the heat tape on the main water line every fall, because that one exposed line is what freezes.
32% 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
Baraga County averages 1 warm, muggy night a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in August. 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 expectMain heating fuel in Baraga County's occupied homes: 50% utility gas, 4% electric, 29% propane and 13% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than in most Michigan counties. Heating equipment is one of the leading causes of home fires nationally, and the NFPA recommends having chimneys and vents inspected every year.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Baraga County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Iron gets more pipe-freeze nights than Baraga. Houghton County has the oldest housing nearby, with 71% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Baraga | Michigan median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 35% | 32% | 31 of 83 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 64% | 58% | 29 of 83 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 13% | 16% | 64 of 83 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 9.2% | 7.3% | 24 of 83 |
| Vacant homes | 32% | 20% | 27 of 83 |
| Wood or propane heat | 42% | 29% | 23 of 83 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 102/yr | 54/yr | 3 of 83 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 3.8/yr | 3.9/yr | 44 of 83 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 99/yr | 95/yr | 27 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 Baraga County: freezing from October to April, heavy rain in June, August and September.
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