Will Pipes Freeze in Chippewa County, WI? 89 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Chippewa County
In a normal year Chippewa County, WI gets 89 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 87% 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 | 89 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 53 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 28 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 89 nights of risk to 53 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 10/08, last around 05/01. For 20°F: 11/11 to 04/03.
How cold Chippewa County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 10°F; the coldest month, January, averages 6°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, November, December: 53 nights a year, and 28 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6°F | 9°F | 21°F | 33°F | 45°F | 55°F | 59°F | 57°F | 49°F | 37°F | 26°F | 13°F |
Chippewa County next to its neighbours
Eau Claire County, WI, 38 km south, gets 93 nights below 20°F to Chippewa County's 89 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chippewa County, WI | - | 160 nights | 89 nights | 6°F |
| Eau Claire County, WI | 38 km south | 163 nights | 93 nights | 5°F |
| Rusk County, WI | 46 km north | 192 nights | 108 nights | 2°F |
| Dunn County, WI | 50 km west | 164 nights | 91 nights | 4°F |
| Barron County, WI | 61 km northwest | 173 nights | 103 nights | 2°F |
| Taylor County, WI | 63 km east | 177 nights | 103 nights | 3°F |
| Clark County, WI | 64 km southeast | 175 nights | 100 nights | 4°F |
Chippewa County within WI
Chippewa County ranks 34 of 72 WI counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Vilas County, WI at 116 nights, with a 4°F average winter low. The fewest is Racine County, WI: 55 nights, winter lows near 19°F. At 1,024 ft, Chippewa County sits close to the state's median county elevation of 995 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 Jim Falls (3 mi NW), WI, 4 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.