Will Pipes Freeze in Clinton County, IA? 66 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Clinton County
In a normal year Clinton County, IA gets 66 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 75% 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 | 141 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 66 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 34 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 15 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 66 nights of risk to 34 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 10/14, last around 04/25. For 20°F: 11/12 to 03/24.
How cold Clinton County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 16°F; the coldest month, January, averages 13°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: 34 nights a year, and 15 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13°F | 17°F | 28°F | 39°F | 50°F | 61°F | 64°F | 62°F | 53°F | 41°F | 30°F | 19°F |
Clinton County next to its neighbours
Jackson County, IA, 30 km north, gets 73 nights below 20°F to Clinton County's 66 nights. Scott County, IA, 29 km south, gets 62 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clinton County, IA | - | 141 nights | 66 nights | 13°F |
| Scott County, IA | 29 km south | 136 nights | 62 nights | 14°F |
| Jackson County, IA | 30 km north | 150 nights | 73 nights | 11°F |
| Rock Island County, IL | 48 km south | 126 nights | 55 nights | 14°F |
| Cedar County, IA | 52 km west | 150 nights | 74 nights | 12°F |
| Carroll County, IL | 54 km east | 150 nights | 72 nights | 12°F |
| Whiteside County, IL | 54 km east | 144 nights | 67 nights | 12°F |
Clinton County within IA
Clinton County ranks 81 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 784 ft, Clinton County sits 305 ft below 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.
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 Maquoketa, IA, 23 km away (fair 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.