Lenawee County, Michigan · Adrian
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Pipes freeze in Lenawee County on about 40 nights a year, mostly November to March. Older homes, 43% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in June. Lenawee County averages 5 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Sewage backups in Lenawee County spike on heavy-rain days, about 5 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Lenawee County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 2.31 inches, and about 91 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
14% of occupied homes in Lenawee County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Michigan county median of 29%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 21 times a year in Lenawee County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
With 43,761 homes and around 98,415 residents, Lenawee County is 750 square miles of southwest Michigan. Besides Adrian, the county seat, the biggest communities are Tecumseh, Blissfield and Clinton. The county's median home was built in 1968.
63/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Lenawee County ranks 11 of 83 Michigan counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Lenawee County ranks highest compared with other Michigan counties.
Lenawee County is milder than most of Michigan, but not mild enough to skip winterizing. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 40 nights a year at or below 20°F (72nd of 83) and 124 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
The longest cold spell was straight 21 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in March 2015. The coldest night reached about -17°F on January 31, 2019. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 25 and the last spring freeze around Apr 27.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Michigan. The county gets about 34.9 inches of rain and melted snow a year, with 5 days of an inch or more (16th of 83). Those downpours cluster in March, June and August, when sump pumps and gutters are tested hardest. The wettest day on record brought 2.31 inches on September 22, 2021. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.76 inches (through September 24, 2021).
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
66% of homes in Lenawee County predate 1980, above the Michigan county median of 58.4%, which ranks 18th of Michigan's 83 counties.
In Lenawee County 43% of homes are older than 1960. If yours is one of them and the plumbing has never been replaced, expect galvanized steel supply pipe and cast iron drain lines, the two materials most likely to fail quietly.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 21 times a year here, above 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Lenawee County it's 75% utility gas, 8% electric, 12% propane and 2% wood. Most homes here heat with gas or electricity, so cooking and electrical faults are the likelier fire sources. Even a contained kitchen fire can send soot through the ductwork to every room.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Lenawee County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Hillsdale, Jackson and Washtenaw get more pipe-freeze nights than Lenawee. Jackson County has the oldest housing nearby, with 68% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Lenawee | Michigan median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 43% | 32% | 9 of 83 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 66% | 58% | 18 of 83 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 14% | 16% | 62 of 83 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 5.9% | 7.3% | 53 of 83 |
| Vacant homes | 11% | 20% | 59 of 83 |
| Wood or propane heat | 14% | 29% | 65 of 83 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 40/yr | 54/yr | 72 of 83 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5/yr | 3.9/yr | 16 of 83 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 91/yr | 95/yr | 53 of 83 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 21/yr | 10/yr | 17 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 Lenawee County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in March, June and August.
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