Will Pipes Freeze in Clay County, IA? 89 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Clay County
In a normal year Clay County, IA 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 October to April, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 162 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 89 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 51 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 25 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 89 nights of risk to 51 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 10/03, last around 05/01. For 20°F: 11/01 to 04/04.
How cold Clay County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 11°F; the coldest month, January, averages 8°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: 51 nights a year, and 25 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8°F | 12°F | 24°F | 35°F | 48°F | 59°F | 62°F | 59°F | 50°F | 37°F | 24°F | 13°F |
Clay County next to its neighbours
Emmet County, IA, 51 km northeast, gets 91 nights below 20°F to Clay County's 89 nights. Buena Vista County, IA, 38 km south, gets 85 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clay County, IA | - | 162 nights | 89 nights | 8°F |
| Dickinson County, IA | 34 km north | 157 nights | 89 nights | 7°F |
| Buena Vista County, IA | 38 km south | 154 nights | 85 nights | 8°F |
| O'Brien County, IA | 39 km west | 153 nights | 83 nights | 9°F |
| Palo Alto County, IA | 39 km east | 153 nights | 83 nights | 7°F |
| Emmet County, IA | 51 km northeast | 164 nights | 91 nights | 6°F |
| Osceola County, IA | 51 km northwest | 171 nights | 99 nights | 5°F |
Clay County within IA
Clay County ranks 11 of 99 IA counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Osceola County, IA at 99 nights, with a 8°F average winter low. The fewest is Des Moines County, IA: 52 nights, winter lows near 19°F. At 1,355 ft, Clay County sits 265 ft above the state's median county elevation of 1,090 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.
The dates to be done by: when freeze season starts and ends.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Spencer (1 mi N), IA, 9 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.