Will Pipes Freeze in Door County, WI? 77 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Door County
In a normal year Door County, WI gets 77 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 80% 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 | 154 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 77 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 36 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 15 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 77 nights of risk to 36 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 10/18, last around 05/14. For 20°F: 11/22 to 04/07.
How cold Door County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 14°F; the coldest month, January, averages 12°F overnight. 8 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, December: 36 nights a year, and 15 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12°F | 12°F | 21°F | 31°F | 42°F | 52°F | 58°F | 57°F | 51°F | 40°F | 30°F | 19°F |
Door County next to its neighbours
Menominee County, MI, 61 km northwest, gets 99 nights below 20°F to Door County's 77 nights. Kewaunee County, WI, 63 km southwest, gets 74 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Door County, WI | - | 154 nights | 77 nights | 12°F |
| Menominee County, MI | 61 km northwest | 186 nights | 99 nights | 6°F |
| Kewaunee County, WI | 63 km southwest | 147 nights | 74 nights | 11°F |
| Leelanau County, MI | 78 km east | 144 nights | 61 nights | 18°F |
| Marinette County, WI | 79 km west | 188 nights | 103 nights | 5°F |
| Delta County, MI | 80 km north | 185 nights | 95 nights | 7°F |
| Benzie County, MI | 82 km southeast | 141 nights | 57 nights | 18°F |
Door County within WI
Door County ranks 56 of 72 WI counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Vilas County, WI at 116 nights, with a 4°F average winter low. The fewest is Racine County, WI: 55 nights, winter lows near 19°F. At 584 ft, Door County sits 411 ft below the state's median county elevation of 995 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 Ephraim -Wastewater Plant (1 mi NE), WI, 12 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.