Newaygo County, Michigan · White Cloud
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With 28% of homes built before 1960 and about 55 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
June brings the most downpours to Newaygo County, part of 3.9 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
28% 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.
Newaygo County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 2.86 inches, and about 105 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
51% of occupied homes in Newaygo 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 6 times a year in Newaygo County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Newaygo County covers 839 square miles of central Lower Michigan, with about 50,792 residents and 24,931 homes. White Cloud is the county seat; Fremont, Newaygo and Grant are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1978, half after.
46/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Newaygo County ranks 51 of 83 Michigan counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Newaygo County ranks highest compared with other Michigan counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Newaygo County sits near the middle of the state. In the 2015–2024 record the county logged about 55 nights a year at or below 20°F (40th of 83) and 148 below freezing. Twenty degrees is roughly where uninsulated pipes start to freeze.
On February 20, 2015 the low fell to about -19°F, and in the stretch ending March 2015 the county went 22 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
Expect the hardest freezes in January, inside a season that runs November to April. That's when an outdoor spigot left connected to a hose, or a pipe in a crawl space, is most likely to split.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 17 and end around May 8.
Rainfall is about average for Michigan. About 3.9 days a year bring an inch or more (42nd of 83), most often in June, out of 36.8 inches of total precipitation. On October 2, 2019, 2.86 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.17 inches, ending August 29, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 105 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
53% of homes in Newaygo County predate 1980, below the Michigan county median of 58.4%, which ranks 62nd of Michigan's 83 counties.
The mix runs from 28% built before 1960 to 17% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 30% of the county's homes. If yours is from those decades, look under the sinks and at the water heater for gray plastic pipe stamped PB, which is polybutylene and leak-prone.
Manufactured and mobile homes make up 19% 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.
Beyond water
Newaygo County averages 6 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in October. 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 Newaygo County it's 34% utility gas, 8% electric, 35% propane and 16% 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 Newaygo County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Lake and Mecosta get more pipe-freeze nights than Newaygo. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Muskegon County has the oldest housing nearby, with 64% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Newaygo | Michigan median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 28% | 32% | 49 of 83 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 53% | 58% | 62 of 83 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 17% | 16% | 34 of 83 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 19% | 7.3% | 2 of 83 |
| Vacant homes | 21% | 20% | 39 of 83 |
| Wood or propane heat | 51% | 29% | 10 of 83 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 55/yr | 54/yr | 40 of 83 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 3.9/yr | 3.9/yr | 42 of 83 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 105/yr | 95/yr | 8 of 83 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 6/yr | 10/yr | 52 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 Newaygo County: freezing from November to April, 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