Washburn County, Wisconsin · Shell Lake
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With 23% of homes built before 1960 and about 97 hard-freeze nights a year, frozen and split pipes are a leading winter risk in the county.
September brings the most downpours to Washburn County, part of 5.2 heavy-rain days a year. Check the sump first.
Backups often follow heavy rain, which Washburn County gets about 5.2 days a year, when storm water overloads sewer mains and pushes up through the lowest drain in the house.
In Washburn County, 4.07 inches fell on the wettest day of the 2015–2024 record. Storms like that, and ice dams in snowy winters, cause most roof leaks.
59% of occupied homes in Washburn County heat mainly with wood or propane, above the Wisconsin county median of 32.9%.
With 3 muggy nights a year, mold in Washburn County can appear within days of a leak. Dry first, then clean.
Local risk profile
With 12,853 homes and around 16,854 residents, Washburn County is 797 square miles of northwest Wisconsin. Shell Lake is the county seat; Spooner, Minong and Birchwood are the next largest communities. Half the homes here were built before 1982, half after.
38/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Moderate Washburn County ranks 63 of 72 Wisconsin counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Washburn County ranks highest compared with other Wisconsin counties.
Washburn 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 174 nights at or below 32°F. That ranks 10th of 72 counties.
The longest cold spell was straight 40 days without the temperature rising above freezing, ending in March 2015. The coldest night reached about -35°F on February 15, 2021. Burst pipes usually show up when a spell like that breaks and the ice thaws.
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 5 and end around May 14.
Washburn gets fewer downpours than most Wisconsin counties, but they still fill basements. Of roughly 33.3 inches of yearly precipitation, the damage comes from the 5.2 days a year with an inch or more, ranked 58th of 72. May, June and September see the most. The single wettest day in the record: 4.07 inches, July 12, 2016. The worst three-day stretch dropped 4.39 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 94 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 48% of the county's housing was built before 1980. That puts Washburn among the newer housing stocks of Wisconsin's 72 counties.
Growth since 2000 added 26% of today's homes. In houses that new, the weak points are washing machine hoses, ice maker lines, water heaters and sump pumps rather than the pipes in the walls.
About 26% 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.
41% 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
Washburn County averages 3 warm, muggy nights a year (lows of 65°F or more) and gets the most rain in August. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity below 60%, ideally 30 to 50%. Basements can pass 60% on their own in summer, so a dehumidifier matters even without a leak, and anything wet should be dried within 24 to 48 hours.
Mold remediation: what to expectBy main heating fuel, Washburn County homes break down as 28% utility gas, 10% electric, 48% propane and 11% wood. Wood and propane heat are above the Wisconsin norm. Annual chimney and vent inspection, which the NFPA recommends, is one of the most effective fire-prevention habits for these homes.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Washburn County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Douglas and Sawyer get more pipe-freeze nights than Washburn. Douglas County has the oldest housing nearby, with 66% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Washburn | Wisconsin median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 23% | 31% | 62 of 72 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 48% | 54% | 61 of 72 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 26% | 21% | 9 of 72 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 6.9% | 4.8% | 19 of 72 |
| Vacant homes | 41% | 12% | 10 of 72 |
| Wood or propane heat | 59% | 33% | 7 of 72 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 97/yr | 73/yr | 10 of 72 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 5.2/yr | 6.3/yr | 58 of 72 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 94/yr | 94/yr | 31 of 72 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 3/yr | 11/yr | 58 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 Washburn 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