Mackinac County, Michigan · St. Ignace
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With 31% of homes built before 1960 and about 80 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 3.3 times a year here, most often in October. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
31% of homes here predate 1960, when clay and cast iron sewer laterals were standard. Roots and cracks in those lines are a common cause of backups.
In Mackinac County, 2.14 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
47% of occupied homes in Mackinac 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 3 times a year in Mackinac County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Mackinac County covers 1,022 square miles of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, with about 10,957 residents and 10,597 homes. St. Ignace is the county seat; Mackinac Island and Naubinway are the next largest communities. The county's median home was built in 1976.
48/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Mackinac County ranks 45 of 83 Michigan counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Mackinac County ranks highest compared with other Michigan counties.
Mackinac is on the colder side of Michigan for pipes. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 80 nights a year at or below 20°F (15th of 83) and 168 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
The longest cold spell was straight 48 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in March 2015. The coldest night reached about -25°F on February 20, 2015. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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 18 and the last spring freeze around May 18.
Mackinac gets fewer downpours than most Michigan counties, but they still fill basements. About 3.3 days a year bring an inch or more (63rd of 83), most often in October, out of 35.3 inches of total precipitation. On October 4, 2018, 2.14 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 3.44 inches (through October 25, 2017).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 94 days a year. Each cycle melts and refreezes water at roof edges and in foundation cracks, which is how ice dams and basement seepage get started.
Housing
Roughly 56% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Mackinac near the middle of Michigan's 83 counties.
The mix runs from 31% built before 1960 to 17% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
About 27% 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.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 7% of the housing here. Water lines in the underbelly depend on intact skirting and working heat tape, and they're usually the first to freeze in a cold snap.
51% 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 3 times 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 expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Mackinac County it's 27% utility gas, 22% electric, 36% propane and 11% 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 Mackinac County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Chippewa, Luce and Schoolcraft get more pipe-freeze nights than Mackinac. Presque Isle County has the oldest housing nearby, with 64% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Mackinac | Michigan median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 31% | 32% | 44 of 83 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 56% | 58% | 54 of 83 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 17% | 16% | 36 of 83 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 7.4% | 7.3% | 40 of 83 |
| Vacant homes | 51% | 20% | 2 of 83 |
| Wood or propane heat | 47% | 29% | 15 of 83 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 80/yr | 54/yr | 15 of 83 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 3.3/yr | 3.9/yr | 63 of 83 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 94/yr | 95/yr | 45 of 83 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 3/yr | 10/yr | 69 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 Mackinac 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