Will Pipes Freeze in Dickinson County, IA? 89 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Dickinson County
In a normal year Dickinson County, IA gets 89 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 87% 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 | 157 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 89 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 50 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 25 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 89 nights of risk to 50 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 10/06, last around 05/01. For 20°F: 11/04 to 04/03.
How cold Dickinson County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 11°F; the coldest month, January, averages 7°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: 50 nights a year, and 25 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7°F | 11°F | 24°F | 35°F | 48°F | 59°F | 63°F | 60°F | 52°F | 39°F | 25°F | 13°F |
Dickinson County next to its neighbours
Jackson County, MN, 32 km north, gets 99 nights below 20°F to Dickinson County's 89 nights. O'Brien County, IA, 49 km southwest, gets 83 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dickinson County, IA | - | 157 nights | 89 nights | 7°F |
| Jackson County, MN | 32 km north | 168 nights | 99 nights | 5°F |
| Clay County, IA | 34 km south | 162 nights | 89 nights | 8°F |
| Osceola County, IA | 35 km west | 171 nights | 99 nights | 5°F |
| Emmet County, IA | 43 km east | 164 nights | 91 nights | 6°F |
| O'Brien County, IA | 49 km southwest | 153 nights | 83 nights | 9°F |
| Palo Alto County, IA | 55 km southeast | 153 nights | 83 nights | 7°F |
Dickinson County within IA
Dickinson County ranks 8 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 1,460 ft, Dickinson County sits 371 ft above 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 Milford (4 mi NW), IA, 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.