Cass County, Minnesota · Walker
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With 13% of homes built before 1960 and about 104 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 3.5 times a year here, most often in June. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Cass County gets about 3.5 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Cass County, 2.51 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
54% of occupied homes in Cass County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Minnesota county median of 30%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 4 times a year in Cass County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
Cass County covers 2,021 square miles of central Minnesota, with about 30,992 residents and 24,470 homes. The county seat is Walker, and East Gull Lake, Lake Shore and Pine River round out the largest towns. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1990.
32/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Cass County ranks 84 of 87 Minnesota counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Cass County ranks highest compared with other Minnesota counties.
Cass County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Minnesota. From 2015–2024 it averaged 104 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 173 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 21st of 87 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 59 days below freezing (ending March 2019), and the low bottomed out near -38°F on January 31, 2019.
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 8 and end around May 10.
Cass gets fewer downpours than most Minnesota counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 26.4 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 3.5 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 70th of 87. May, June and August see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.51 inches, June 17, 2018. The worst three-day stretch dropped 3.91 inches, ending July 12, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
The temperature crosses 32°F in both directions on roughly 87 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
Minnesota's 87 counties range widely in housing age; Cass ranks 80th, with 36% of its homes built before 1980.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 33% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
The 1980s and 1990s account for 31% 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 8% 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.
With 47% 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
Summer nights that don't drop below 65°F, a good marker of humid air, come about 4 times a year here, below the Minnesota county median of 13. 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 Cass County it's 19% utility gas, 23% electric, 44% propane and 11% 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 Cass County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Beltrami, Hubbard and Itasca get more pipe-freeze nights than Cass. Wadena County has the oldest housing nearby, with 58% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Cass | Minnesota median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 13% | 34% | 82 of 87 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 36% | 58% | 80 of 87 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 33% | 21% | 9 of 87 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 8.3% | 3.8% | 15 of 87 |
| Vacant homes | 47% | 11% | 4 of 87 |
| Wood or propane heat | 54% | 30% | 6 of 87 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 104/yr | 89/yr | 21 of 87 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 3.5/yr | 5.3/yr | 70 of 87 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 87/yr | 86/yr | 37 of 87 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 4/yr | 13/yr | 71 of 87 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Minnesota county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Cass County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in May, June 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