Bayfield County, Wisconsin · Washburn
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Bayfield County averages 97 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly November to April, and 26% of its homes predate 1960.
May brings the most downpours to Bayfield County, part of 4.1 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Bayfield County gets about 4.1 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Bayfield County, 4.3 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
64% of occupied homes in Bayfield County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Wisconsin county median of 32.9%.
About 1 night 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 16,575 people live in Bayfield County, 1,478 square miles in northwest Wisconsin, in roughly 13,356 homes. The county seat is Washburn, and Iron River, Bayfield and Cable round out the largest towns. Half the homes here were built before 1982, half after.
36/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Bayfield County ranks 66 of 72 Wisconsin counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Bayfield County ranks highest compared with other Wisconsin counties.
Bayfield County gets more hard-freeze nights than most of Wisconsin. From 2015–2024 it averaged 97 nights a year at 20°F or colder, the range where pipes in exterior walls, crawl spaces and unheated garages freeze, and 177 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 10th of 72 counties.
Cold snaps are the real risk. The worst in the record lasted 46 days below freezing (ending February 2019), and the low bottomed out near -31°F on January 31, 2019.
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.
Freezing nights typically start around Oct 7 and end around May 17.
Bayfield gets fewer downpours than most Wisconsin counties, but they still fill basements. About 4.1 days a year bring an inch or more (69th of 72), most often in May, out of 32.4 inches of total precipitation. On July 12, 2016, 4.3 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 5.18 inches, ending June 18, 2018, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
Freeze-thaw days, below freezing overnight and above it by afternoon, come about 94 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 48% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Bayfield among the newer housing stocks of Wisconsin's 72 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.
25% 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.
The Census counted 44% of homes as vacant, above the Wisconsin county median of 12%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
Bayfield County averages 1 warm, muggy night 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 expectMain heating fuel in Bayfield County's occupied homes: 21% utility gas, 12% electric, 50% propane and 14% wood. Wood and propane heat are more common here than in most Wisconsin 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 Bayfield County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Every neighboring county gets more pipe-freeze nights than Bayfield. All of its neighbors see more heavy-rain days. Douglas County has the oldest housing nearby, with 66% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Bayfield | Wisconsin median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 26% | 31% | 52 of 72 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 48% | 54% | 60 of 72 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 27% | 21% | 6 of 72 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 5.4% | 4.8% | 32 of 72 |
| Vacant homes | 44% | 12% | 6 of 72 |
| Wood or propane heat | 64% | 33% | 4 of 72 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 97/yr | 73/yr | 10 of 72 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 4.1/yr | 6.3/yr | 69 of 72 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 94/yr | 94/yr | 31 of 72 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 1/yr | 11/yr | 65 of 72 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest Wisconsin county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Bayfield County: freezing from November to April, heavy rain in May, June 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