Will Pipes Freeze in Clearwater County, MN? 124 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Clearwater County
In a normal year Clearwater County, MN gets 124 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 98% 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 | 194 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 124 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 84 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 55 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 124 nights of risk to 84 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 09/26, last around 05/15. For 20°F: 10/29 to 04/15.
How cold Clearwater County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 0°F; the coldest month, January, averages -4°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, April, November, December: 84 nights a year, and 55 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -4°F | -1°F | 13°F | 28°F | 41°F | 52°F | 56°F | 54°F | 45°F | 33°F | 19°F | 5°F |
Clearwater County next to its neighbours
Mahnomen County, MN, 43 km southwest, gets 118 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearwater County, MN | - | 194 nights | 124 nights | -4°F |
| Mahnomen County, MN | 43 km southwest | 187 nights | 118 nights | -3°F |
| Beltrami County, MN | 43 km northeast | 187 nights | 122 nights | -3°F |
| Red Lake County, MN | 63 km northwest | 182 nights | 117 nights | -3°F |
| Hubbard County, MN | 64 km southeast | 185 nights | 116 nights | -2°F |
| Pennington County, MN | 74 km northwest | 184 nights | 116 nights | -3°F |
| Becker County, MN | 76 km south | 180 nights | 116 nights | -3°F |
Clearwater County within MN
Clearwater County ranks 5 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 1,483 ft, Clearwater County sits 369 ft above 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.
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 Fosston (1 mi E), MN, 27 km away (fair 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.