Will Pipes Freeze in Crawford County, WI? 76 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Crawford County
In a normal year Crawford County, WI gets 76 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 80% 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 | 147 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 76 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 40 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 21 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 76 nights of risk to 40 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 10/20, last around 04/22. For 20°F: 11/19 to 03/23.
How cold Crawford County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 12°F; the coldest month, January, averages 8°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: 40 nights a year, and 21 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8°F | 12°F | 24°F | 36°F | 47°F | 58°F | 62°F | 60°F | 51°F | 39°F | 27°F | 16°F |
Crawford County next to its neighbours
Allamakee County, IA, 36 km west, gets 85 nights below 20°F to Crawford County's 76 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crawford County, WI | - | 147 nights | 76 nights | 8°F |
| Allamakee County, IA | 36 km west | 158 nights | 85 nights | 8°F |
| Vernon County, WI | 41 km north | 164 nights | 89 nights | 7°F |
| Richland County, WI | 43 km east | 165 nights | 89 nights | 8°F |
| Grant County, WI | 46 km southeast | 150 nights | 77 nights | 9°F |
| Clayton County, IA | 55 km southwest | 154 nights | 81 nights | 8°F |
| Houston County, MN | 66 km northwest | 160 nights | 87 nights | 8°F |
Crawford County within WI
Crawford County ranks 57 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 965 ft, Crawford 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 Steuben (4 mi SE), WI, 15 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.