Roscommon County, Michigan · Roscommon
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Pipes freeze in Roscommon County on about 65 nights a year, mostly November to April. Older homes, 18% of the stock here, are most at risk.
June brings the most downpours to Roscommon County, part of 3.2 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Sewage backups in Roscommon County spike on heavy-rain days, about 3.2 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roscommon County's wettest day in the 2015–2024 record brought 3.58 inches, and about 103 freeze-thaw days a year mean ice dams in some winters.
21% of occupied homes in Roscommon County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the Michigan county median of 29%.
About 5 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
With 23,213 homes and around 23,737 residents, Roscommon County is 520 square miles of northern Lower Michigan. Besides Roscommon, the county seat, the biggest communities are Houghton Lake, St. Helen and Prudenville. The county's median home was built in 1976.
32/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Roscommon County ranks 81 of 83 Michigan counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Roscommon County ranks highest compared with other Michigan counties.
Roscommon is on the colder side of Michigan for pipes. It averaged 159 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 65 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 83 Michigan counties that's 26th.
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.
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 13 and the last spring freeze around May 15.
Roscommon gets fewer downpours than most Michigan counties, but they still fill basements. About 3.2 days a year bring an inch or more (65th of 83), most often in June, out of 33.8 inches of total precipitation. On October 24, 2017, 3.58 inches fell in a single day. Multi-day storms matter most for basements; the wettest three days on record here totaled 4.94 inches (through October 25, 2017).
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 103 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 Roscommon near the middle of Michigan's 83 counties.
The mix runs from 18% built before 1960 to 13% built since 2000, so older neighborhoods bring aging pipe while newer subdivisions bring failed appliance lines and water heaters.
About 29% 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 9% 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.
50% 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
About 5 nights a year in Roscommon County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (57th 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, Roscommon County homes break down as 69% utility gas, 8% electric, 17% propane and 4% 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 Roscommon County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Crawford and Missaukee get more pipe-freeze nights than Roscommon. Its housing is the oldest in the area by share of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Roscommon | Michigan median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 18% | 32% | 78 of 83 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 59% | 58% | 40 of 83 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 13% | 16% | 67 of 83 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 8.9% | 7.3% | 26 of 83 |
| Vacant homes | 50% | 20% | 5 of 83 |
| Wood or propane heat | 21% | 29% | 61 of 83 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 65/yr | 54/yr | 26 of 83 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 3.2/yr | 3.9/yr | 65 of 83 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 103/yr | 95/yr | 14 of 83 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 5/yr | 10/yr | 57 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 Roscommon 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