Missaukee County, Michigan · Lake City
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With 20% of homes built before 1960 and about 68 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
June brings the most downpours to Missaukee County, part of 3 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
20% 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 Missaukee County, 3.09 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
59% of occupied homes in Missaukee 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 4 times a year in Missaukee County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Missaukee County covers 565 square miles of northern Lower Michigan, with about 15,207 residents and 8,680 homes. Lake City is the county seat; McBain, Jennings and Falmouth are the next largest communities. The county's median home was built in 1980.
33/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Missaukee County ranks 79 of 83 Michigan counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Missaukee County ranks highest compared with other Michigan counties.
Missaukee is on the colder side of Michigan for pipes. From 2015–2024 it averaged 68 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 165 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 21st of 83 counties.
On February 20, 2015 the low fell to about -28°F, and in the stretch ending March 2015 the county went 41 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
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 13 and the last spring freeze around May 18.
Missaukee gets fewer downpours than most Michigan counties, but they still fill basements. About 3 days a year bring an inch or more (69th of 83), most often in June, out of 34 inches of total precipitation. On October 24, 2017, 3.09 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.93 inches (through October 25, 2017).
About 108 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
50% of homes in Missaukee County predate 1980, below the Michigan county median of 58.4%, which ranks 70th of Michigan's 83 counties.
Housing age is mixed: 20% of homes are pre-1960 and 18% are 2000 or newer. Ask any plumber which era your house is from and you'll know which failures to watch for.
33% date from 1980 to 1999, the window when polybutylene, a gray flexible plastic supply pipe, was used in some homes. It's prone to leaks at the fittings, so it's worth checking for in a house from those years.
15% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, above 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.
With 32% of homes empty at survey time, landlords and seasonal owners should shut off the main or schedule checks in winter. An unheated vacant house is also where many policies limit freeze coverage.
Beyond water
About 4 nights a year in Missaukee County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (61st 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, Missaukee County homes break down as 32% utility gas, 5% electric, 43% propane and 16% wood. Wood and propane heat are above the Michigan norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Missaukee County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Missaukee gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Clare County has the oldest housing nearby, with 59% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Missaukee | Michigan median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 20% | 32% | 75 of 83 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 50% | 58% | 70 of 83 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 18% | 16% | 31 of 83 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 15% | 7.3% | 6 of 83 |
| Vacant homes | 32% | 20% | 28 of 83 |
| Wood or propane heat | 59% | 29% | 2 of 83 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 68/yr | 54/yr | 21 of 83 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 3/yr | 3.9/yr | 69 of 83 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 108/yr | 95/yr | 2 of 83 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 4/yr | 10/yr | 61 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 Missaukee County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in May, June 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