Ontonagon County, Michigan · Ontonagon
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Pipes freeze in Ontonagon County on about 100 nights a year, mostly November to April. Older homes, 46% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Basements flood here mostly in August. Ontonagon County averages 3.7 days a year with an inch of rain or more.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Ontonagon County gets about 3.7 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 98 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
44% of occupied homes in Ontonagon County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Michigan county median of 29%.
With 2 muggy nights a year, mold in Ontonagon County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
Ontonagon County covers 1,311 square miles of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, with about 5,850 residents and 5,238 homes. Besides Ontonagon, the county seat, the biggest communities are White Pine, Mass City and Ewen. The county's median home was built in 1963.
68/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Ontonagon County ranks 5 of 83 Michigan counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Ontonagon County ranks highest compared with other Michigan counties.
Ontonagon is on the colder side of Michigan for pipes. From 2015–2024 it averaged 100 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 181 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 5th of 83 counties.
On February 26, 2015 the low fell to about -25°F, and in the stretch ending February 2019 the county went 45 days in a row below freezing. Leaks from split pipes typically appear the day the thaw arrives.
The freeze season here runs November to April, with January the coldest. If you travel then, leave the thermostat at 55°F or above and open sink cabinets on outside walls.
On average the first fall freeze arrives around Oct 7 and the last spring freeze around May 20.
Rainfall is about average for Michigan. Of roughly 34 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 3.7 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 46th of 83. April, August and October see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.03 inches, July 12, 2016. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 3.11 inches (through June 18, 2018).
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 98 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
71% of homes in Ontonagon County predate 1980, above the Michigan county median of 58.4%, which ranks 7th of Michigan's 83 counties.
46% were built before 1960. Homes from that era often still have galvanized steel supply pipe, which rusts from the inside until it pinholes, and cast iron drains that crack with age. Slow leaks behind walls are a common start to water damage in these houses.
The Census counted 40% of homes as vacant, above the Michigan county median of 19.5%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
Ontonagon County averages 2 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 expectMain heating fuel in Ontonagon County's occupied homes: 44% utility gas, 6% electric, 32% propane and 12% 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 Ontonagon County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Gogebic and Iron get more pipe-freeze nights than Ontonagon. Gogebic County has the oldest housing nearby, with 79% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Ontonagon | Michigan median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 46% | 32% | 8 of 83 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 71% | 58% | 7 of 83 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 11% | 16% | 76 of 83 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 5% | 7.3% | 65 of 83 |
| Vacant homes | 40% | 20% | 11 of 83 |
| Wood or propane heat | 44% | 29% | 19 of 83 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 100/yr | 54/yr | 5 of 83 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 3.7/yr | 3.9/yr | 46 of 83 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 98/yr | 95/yr | 30 of 83 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 2/yr | 10/yr | 70 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 Ontonagon County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in April, 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