Will Pipes Freeze in Cass County, MI? 53 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Cass County
In a normal year Cass County, MI gets 53 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 67% 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 | 134 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 53 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 20 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 5 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 53 nights of risk to 20 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 10/11, last around 05/04. For 20°F: 11/19 to 03/31.
How cold Cass County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 20°F; the coldest month, January, averages 18°F overnight. 8 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, December: 20 nights a year, and 5 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18°F | 19°F | 27°F | 37°F | 48°F | 58°F | 62°F | 60°F | 53°F | 42°F | 32°F | 24°F |
Cass County next to its neighbours
St. Joseph County, MI, 39 km east, gets 60 nights below 20°F to Cass County's 53 nights. Elkhart County, IN, 37 km south, gets 49 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cass County, MI | - | 134 nights | 53 nights | 18°F |
| Elkhart County, IN | 37 km south | 127 nights | 49 nights | 18°F |
| St. Joseph County, MI | 39 km east | 143 nights | 60 nights | 17°F |
| St. Joseph County, IN | 41 km southwest | 133 nights | 51 nights | 16°F |
| Van Buren County, MI | 48 km northwest | 118 nights | 42 nights | 21°F |
| Kalamazoo County, MI | 53 km northeast | 129 nights | 51 nights | 18°F |
| LaGrange County, IN | 56 km southeast | 140 nights | 62 nights | 17°F |
Cass County within MI
Cass County ranks 73 of 83 MI counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Iron County, MI at 120 nights, with a 3°F average winter low. The fewest is Allegan County, MI: 38 nights, winter lows near 24°F. At 911 ft, Cass County sits 103 ft above the state's median county elevation of 808 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.
Interior pipes have a threshold too: the four freeze points.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Dowagiac (1 mi W), MI, 13 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. How a county figure is built from stations: how the numbers are made.