Barry County, Michigan · Hastings
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Barry County averages 43 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 33% of its homes predate 1960.
Basements flood here mostly in June. Barry County averages 5.7 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Barry County spike on heavy-rain days, about 5.7 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 91 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
34% of occupied homes in Barry County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Michigan county median of 29%.
With 20 muggy nights a year, mold in Barry County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 27,780 homes and around 63,409 residents, Barry County is 553 square miles of southwest Michigan. Hastings is the county seat; Middleville, Nashville and Delton are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1976, half after.
56/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Barry County ranks 27 of 83 Michigan counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Barry County ranks highest compared with other Michigan counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Michigan, and pipes still freeze. From 2015–2024 it averaged 43 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 130 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 64th of 83 counties.
On February 20, 2015 the low fell to about -16°F, and in the stretch ending March 2015 the county went 21 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Most freezing nights fall from November to March, 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.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 21 and end around Apr 29.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Michigan. The county gets about 38.9 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 5.7 days of an inch or more (4th of 83). Those downpours cluster in June, August and October, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 3.61 inches on August 16, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.85 inches, ending June 27, 2021, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 91 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
Roughly 55% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Barry among the newer housing stocks of Michigan's 83 counties.
20% of homes were built in 2000 or later, more than in most of Michigan. Newer plumbing rarely corrodes, so damage here tends to come from appliance supply lines, water heaters, sump pumps and storms.
About 25% 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.
7% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, close to the Michigan county median of 7.3%. Their water lines run under the floor behind the skirting, so a torn skirt or failed heat tape freezes them faster than lines in a site-built house.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 20 times a year here, above the Michigan county median of 10. 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 Barry County it's 53% utility gas, 7% electric, 26% propane and 8% 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 Barry County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Ionia and Kent get more pipe-freeze nights than Barry. Calhoun County has the oldest housing nearby, with 74% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Barry | Michigan median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 33% | 32% | 40 of 83 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 55% | 58% | 56 of 83 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 20% | 16% | 16 of 83 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 7.1% | 7.3% | 43 of 83 |
| Vacant homes | 12% | 20% | 58 of 83 |
| Wood or propane heat | 34% | 29% | 35 of 83 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 43/yr | 54/yr | 64 of 83 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.7/yr | 3.9/yr | 4 of 83 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 91/yr | 95/yr | 53 of 83 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 20/yr | 10/yr | 20 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 Barry County: freezing from November to March, 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