Lake of the Woods County, Minnesota · Baudette
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Pipes freeze in Lake of the Woods County on about 116 nights a year, mostly November to April. Older homes, 17% of the stock here, are most at risk.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 2.9 times a year here, most often in August. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Sewage backups in Lake of the Woods County spike on heavy-rain days, about 2.9 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 82 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
53% of occupied homes in Lake of the Woods County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Minnesota county median of 30%.
About 2 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
About 3,821 people live in Lake of the Woods County, 1,298 square miles in northwest Minnesota, in roughly 3,497 homes. The county seat is Baudette, and Williams and Angle Inlet round out the largest towns. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1986.
34/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Lake of the Woods County ranks 79 of 87 Minnesota counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Lake of the Woods County ranks highest compared with other Minnesota counties.
Lake of the Woods County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Minnesota. It averaged 182 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 116 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 87 Minnesota counties that's 4th.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 63 days below freezing (ending March 2019), and the low bottomed out near -45°F on January 31, 2019.
Most freezing nights fall from November to April, peaking in January. Disconnect garden hoses and shut off outdoor spigots before the first hard frost, and keep the heat at 55°F or higher if you'll be away.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 5 and end around May 12.
Lake of the Woods gets fewer downpours than most Minnesota counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 22.8 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 2.9 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 81st of 87. June, August and September see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 2.93 inches, September 21, 2019. The worst three-day stretch dropped 3.83 inches, ending August 4, 2016, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 82 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
Roughly 42% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Lake of the Woods among the newer housing stocks of Minnesota's 87 counties.
Since 2000 the county has added enough housing that 27% of homes are that new. Modern PEX and copper rarely fail on their own; the leaks come from connections, appliances and storms.
31% date from 1980 to 1999, the window when polybutylene, a gray flexible plastic supply pipe, was used in some homes. It's prone to leaks at the fittings, so it's worth checking for in a house from those years.
Here 26% 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.
48% 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
Lake of the Woods County averages 2 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in June. 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 Lake of the Woods County it's 20% utility gas, 24% electric, 46% propane and 7% 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 Lake of the Woods County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Lake of the Woods gets more pipe-freeze nights than any of its neighbors. Koochiching County has the oldest housing nearby, with 65% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Lake of the Woods | Minnesota median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 17% | 34% | 78 of 87 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 42% | 58% | 72 of 87 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 27% | 21% | 23 of 87 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 26% | 3.8% | 1 of 87 |
| Vacant homes | 48% | 11% | 3 of 87 |
| Wood or propane heat | 53% | 30% | 7 of 87 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 116/yr | 89/yr | 4 of 87 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 2.9/yr | 5.3/yr | 81 of 87 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 82/yr | 86/yr | 71 of 87 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 2/yr | 13/yr | 79 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 Lake of the Woods County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in June, August and September.
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