Will Pipes Freeze in Carver County, MN? 94 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Carver County
In a normal year Carver County, MN gets 94 nights at or below 20°F, the point where bare pipes in a garage, attic or outside wall start to freeze. That is more than 89% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs November to April, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 160 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 94 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 57 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 30 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 94 nights of risk to 57 nights. A 12 ft heat-tape kit runs $17 to $37; an average burst-pipe repair is about $500.
Month by month
Nights at or below 20°F in a normal year.
First 32°F night is usually around 10/05, last around 05/05. For 20°F: 11/04 to 04/04.
How cold Carver County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 8°F; the coldest month, January, averages 5°F overnight. 9 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, November, December: 57 nights a year, and 30 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5°F | 8°F | 20°F | 34°F | 45°F | 57°F | 61°F | 59°F | 50°F | 37°F | 24°F | 12°F |
Carver County next to its neighbours
McLeod County, MN, 37 km west, gets 96 nights below 20°F to Carver County's 94 nights. Scott County, MN, 28 km southeast, gets 92 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carver County, MN | - | 160 nights | 94 nights | 5°F |
| Scott County, MN | 28 km southeast | 160 nights | 92 nights | 5°F |
| Hennepin County, MN | 33 km northeast | 156 nights | 88 nights | 7°F |
| McLeod County, MN | 37 km west | 163 nights | 96 nights | 4°F |
| Wright County, MN | 41 km north | 163 nights | 98 nights | 3°F |
| Sibley County, MN | 44 km southwest | 161 nights | 94 nights | 6°F |
| Le Sueur County, MN | 50 km south | 163 nights | 93 nights | 4°F |
Carver County within MN
Carver County ranks 63 of 87 MN counties for nights below 20°F. The most is St. Louis County, MN at 130 nights, with a 0°F average winter low. The fewest is Winona County, MN: 81 nights, winter lows near 12°F. At 956 ft, Carver County sits 158 ft below the state's median county elevation of 1,114 ft.
What to do here
- Treat it as a building fix, not a night-of routine: insulate, heat tape, seal crawlspace vents.
- An automatic leak shutoff pays for itself if one burst is avoided.
- Know where the main shutoff is before the first hard freeze.
At this many nights, foam alone is not the answer: insulate or heat tape?.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Chaska (2 mi NW), MN, 13 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. What a "fair" or "distant" station match means is in the method guide.