Will Pipes Freeze in Delaware County, IA? 82 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Delaware County
In a normal year Delaware County, IA gets 82 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 83% 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 | 158 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 82 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 43 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 22 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 82 nights of risk to 43 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 10/04, last around 05/03. For 20°F: 11/03 to 04/01.
How cold Delaware County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 12°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: 43 nights a year, and 22 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8°F | 12°F | 24°F | 35°F | 47°F | 58°F | 61°F | 58°F | 49°F | 37°F | 26°F | 15°F |
Delaware County next to its neighbours
Fayette County, IA, 58 km northwest, gets 88 nights below 20°F to Delaware County's 82 nights. Buchanan County, IA, 39 km west, gets 78 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware County, IA | - | 158 nights | 82 nights | 8°F |
| Buchanan County, IA | 39 km west | 152 nights | 78 nights | 8°F |
| Dubuque County, IA | 40 km east | 144 nights | 70 nights | 11°F |
| Clayton County, IA | 41 km north | 154 nights | 81 nights | 8°F |
| Jones County, IA | 44 km southeast | 151 nights | 71 nights | 11°F |
| Linn County, IA | 48 km southwest | 135 nights | 63 nights | 12°F |
| Fayette County, IA | 58 km northwest | 164 nights | 88 nights | 6°F |
Delaware County within IA
Delaware County ranks 36 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 1,031 ft, Delaware County sits 59 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.
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 Manchester #2, IA, 7 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.