Monroe County, Michigan · Monroe
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Monroe County averages 34 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to March, and 34% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 4.6 times a year here, most often in August. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Monroe County gets about 4.6 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Monroe County, 2.42 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
9% of occupied homes in Monroe County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Michigan county median of 29%.
About 34 nights a year here stay at 65°F or warmer, so basements and crawl spaces can grow mold even without a leak.
Local risk profile
Monroe County covers 549 square miles of southeast Michigan, with about 155,505 residents and 66,594 homes. Monroe is the county seat; Lambertville, Temperance and South Monroe are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1974, half after.
51/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Monroe County ranks 38 of 83 Michigan counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Monroe County ranks highest compared with other Michigan counties.
Winters here are on the gentler end for Michigan, and pipes still freeze. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 34 nights a year at or below 20°F (82nd of 83) and 111 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
The longest cold spell was straight 18 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in March 2015. The coldest night reached about -14°F on January 31, 2019. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
The freeze season here runs November to March, 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 31 and end around Apr 23.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of Michigan. Of roughly 34.2 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 4.6 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 24th of 83. March, May and August see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.42 inches, August 24, 2023. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.4 inches, ending September 24, 2021, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 82 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 59% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Monroe near the middle of Michigan's 83 counties.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 21% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
Here 8% 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.
Beyond water
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 34 times a year here, above the Michigan county median of 10. Mold grows when indoor humidity stays above about 60%, the EPA's ceiling. A basement dehumidifier set to 50% and drying anything wet within 24 to 48 hours prevents most problems.
Mold remediation: what to expectHeating fuel matters for fire risk. In Monroe County it's 81% utility gas, 9% electric, 8% propane and 1% wood. Heating equipment, cooking and electrical failures cause most home fires nationally. Even a small kitchen fire can leave soot through the whole house, because smoke follows air currents into closets, ducts and attic space.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Monroe County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Every neighboring county gets more pipe-freeze nights than Monroe. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Wayne County has the oldest housing nearby, with 80% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Monroe | Michigan median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 34% | 32% | 32 of 83 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 59% | 58% | 41 of 83 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 21% | 16% | 15 of 83 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 8% | 7.3% | 32 of 83 |
| Vacant homes | 5.4% | 20% | 77 of 83 |
| Wood or propane heat | 9.2% | 29% | 74 of 83 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 34/yr | 54/yr | 82 of 83 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 4.6/yr | 3.9/yr | 24 of 83 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 82/yr | 95/yr | 79 of 83 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 34/yr | 10/yr | 3 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 Monroe County: freezing from November to March, heavy rain in March, May 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