Will Pipes Freeze in Dickinson County, MI? 103 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Dickinson County
In a normal year Dickinson County, MI gets 103 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 93% 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 | 186 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 103 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 61 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 32 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 103 nights of risk to 61 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 09/24, last around 05/25. For 20°F: 11/01 to 04/22.
How cold Dickinson County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 8°F; the coldest month, January, averages 5°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, April, November, December: 61 nights a year, and 32 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5°F | 6°F | 16°F | 28°F | 40°F | 51°F | 55°F | 54°F | 46°F | 34°F | 24°F | 12°F |
Dickinson County next to its neighbours
Florence County, WI, 45 km west, gets 112 nights below 20°F to Dickinson County's 103 nights. Menominee County, MI, 60 km southeast, gets 99 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dickinson County, MI | - | 186 nights | 103 nights | 5°F |
| Florence County, WI | 45 km west | 194 nights | 112 nights | 3°F |
| Iron County, MI | 55 km west | 205 nights | 120 nights | 0°F |
| Menominee County, MI | 60 km southeast | 186 nights | 99 nights | 6°F |
| Marinette County, WI | 75 km south | 188 nights | 103 nights | 5°F |
| Marquette County, MI | 75 km north | 175 nights | 91 nights | 10°F |
| Delta County, MI | 78 km east | 185 nights | 95 nights | 7°F |
Dickinson County within MI
Dickinson County ranks 4 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 1,119 ft, Dickinson County sits 311 ft above 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.
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 Iron Mountain Ford Airport, MI, 29 km away (fair 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.