Will Pipes Freeze in Delta County, MI? 95 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Delta County
In a normal year Delta County, MI gets 95 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 | 185 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 95 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 58 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 29 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 95 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 10/04, last around 05/18. For 20°F: 11/13 to 04/14.
How cold Delta County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 10°F; the coldest month, February, averages 7°F overnight. 10 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, 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: 58 nights a year, and 29 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7°F | 7°F | 16°F | 28°F | 41°F | 51°F | 56°F | 55°F | 48°F | 36°F | 27°F | 16°F |
Delta County next to its neighbours
Menominee County, MI, 55 km southwest, gets 99 nights below 20°F to Delta County's 95 nights. Schoolcraft County, MI, 60 km northeast, gets 86 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta County, MI | - | 185 nights | 95 nights | 7°F |
| Menominee County, MI | 55 km southwest | 186 nights | 99 nights | 6°F |
| Schoolcraft County, MI | 60 km northeast | 170 nights | 86 nights | 10°F |
| Dickinson County, MI | 78 km west | 186 nights | 103 nights | 5°F |
| Door County, WI | 80 km south | 154 nights | 77 nights | 12°F |
| Alger County, MI | 82 km north | 169 nights | 84 nights | 12°F |
| Leelanau County, MI | 99 km southeast | 144 nights | 61 nights | 18°F |
Delta County within MI
Delta County ranks 8 of 83 MI counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Iron County, MI at 120 nights, with a 3°F average winter low. The fewest is Allegan County, MI: 38 nights, winter lows near 24°F. At 677 ft, Delta County sits 131 ft below the state's median county elevation of 808 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.
The dates to be done by: when freeze season starts and ends.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Rapid Rvr (4 mi SSE), MI, 8 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.