Will Pipes Freeze in Dodge County, MN? 93 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Dodge County
In a normal year Dodge County, MN gets 93 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 89% 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 | 166 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 93 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 55 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 30 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 93 nights of risk to 55 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 09/28, last around 05/12. For 20°F: 10/26 to 04/11.
How cold Dodge County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 9°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, November, December: 55 nights a year, and 30 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5°F | 8°F | 21°F | 33°F | 46°F | 56°F | 60°F | 57°F | 49°F | 36°F | 24°F | 12°F |
Dodge County next to its neighbours
Mower County, MN, 40 km south, gets 94 nights below 20°F to Dodge County's 93 nights. Steele County, MN, 28 km west, gets 91 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dodge County, MN | - | 166 nights | 93 nights | 5°F |
| Steele County, MN | 28 km west | 160 nights | 91 nights | 5°F |
| Olmsted County, MN | 37 km east | 162 nights | 90 nights | 6°F |
| Mower County, MN | 40 km south | 167 nights | 94 nights | 5°F |
| Goodhue County, MN | 45 km north | 164 nights | 92 nights | 4°F |
| Rice County, MN | 50 km northwest | 167 nights | 94 nights | 5°F |
| Freeborn County, MN | 55 km southwest | 160 nights | 90 nights | 6°F |
Dodge County within MN
Dodge County ranks 71 of 87 MN counties for nights below 20°F. The most is St. Louis County, MN at 130 nights, with a 0°F average winter low. The fewest is Winona County, MN: 81 nights, winter lows near 12°F. At 1,296 ft, Dodge County sits 182 ft above the state's median county elevation of 1,114 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 Byron 4NORTH, MN, 20 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.