Will Pipes Freeze in Dubuque County, IA? 70 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Dubuque County
In a normal year Dubuque County, IA gets 70 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 77% 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 | 144 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 70 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 36 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 17 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 70 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 10/11, last around 04/28. For 20°F: 11/09 to 03/28.
How cold Dubuque County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 14°F; the coldest month, January, averages 11°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, November, December: 36 nights a year, and 17 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11°F | 15°F | 26°F | 37°F | 49°F | 59°F | 63°F | 60°F | 52°F | 40°F | 28°F | 17°F |
Dubuque County next to its neighbours
Delaware County, IA, 40 km west, gets 82 nights below 20°F to Dubuque County's 70 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dubuque County, IA | - | 144 nights | 70 nights | 11°F |
| Delaware County, IA | 40 km west | 158 nights | 82 nights | 8°F |
| Jackson County, IA | 42 km southeast | 150 nights | 73 nights | 11°F |
| Jones County, IA | 42 km southwest | 151 nights | 71 nights | 11°F |
| Grant County, WI | 48 km north | 150 nights | 77 nights | 9°F |
| Clayton County, IA | 56 km northwest | 154 nights | 81 nights | 8°F |
| Jo Daviess County, IL | 56 km east | 154 nights | 76 nights | 11°F |
Dubuque County within IA
Dubuque County ranks 71 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 1,048 ft, Dubuque County sits close to 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.
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 Dubuque Regional Airport, IA, 16 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.