Will Pipes Freeze in Cook County, MN? 96 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Cook County
In a normal year Cook County, MN gets 96 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 90% 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 | 175 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 96 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 58 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 30 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 96 nights of risk to 58 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 10/09, last around 05/22. For 20°F: 11/12 to 04/08.
How cold Cook County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 9°F; the coldest month, January, averages 6°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: 58 nights a year, and 30 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6°F | 8°F | 19°F | 29°F | 38°F | 44°F | 52°F | 54°F | 48°F | 37°F | 25°F | 13°F |
Cook County next to its neighbours
Lake County, MN, 84 km west, gets 124 nights below 20°F to Cook County's 96 nights. Ontonagon County, MI, 130 km southeast, gets 95 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cook County, MN | - | 175 nights | 96 nights | 6°F |
| Lake County, MN | 84 km west | 201 nights | 124 nights | -3°F |
| Ontonagon County, MI | 130 km southeast | 177 nights | 95 nights | 9°F |
| Ashland County, WI | 137 km south | 182 nights | 99 nights | 6°F |
| Bayfield County, WI | 140 km southwest | 183 nights | 100 nights | 4°F |
| Gogebic County, MI | 147 km south | 199 nights | 116 nights | 3°F |
| Houghton County, MI | 153 km southeast | 186 nights | 96 nights | 9°F |
Cook County within MN
Cook County ranks 57 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 873 ft, Cook County sits 241 ft below 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.
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 Grand Marais, MN, 1 km away (close 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.