Will Pipes Freeze in Dunn County, WI? 91 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Dunn County
In a normal year Dunn County, WI gets 91 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 88% 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 | 164 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 91 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 53 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 28 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 91 nights of risk to 53 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 10/01, last around 05/09. For 20°F: 11/01 to 04/06.
How cold Dunn County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 8°F; the coldest month, January, averages 4°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: 53 nights a year, and 28 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4°F | 7°F | 19°F | 32°F | 44°F | 55°F | 59°F | 57°F | 48°F | 36°F | 24°F | 12°F |
Dunn County next to its neighbours
St. Croix County, WI, 44 km west, gets 102 nights below 20°F to Dunn County's 91 nights. Pepin County, WI, 36 km south, gets 89 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunn County, WI | - | 164 nights | 91 nights | 4°F |
| Pepin County, WI | 36 km south | 159 nights | 89 nights | 6°F |
| St. Croix County, WI | 44 km west | 170 nights | 102 nights | 2°F |
| Pierce County, WI | 48 km southwest | 166 nights | 95 nights | 2°F |
| Chippewa County, WI | 50 km east | 160 nights | 89 nights | 6°F |
| Eau Claire County, WI | 54 km southeast | 163 nights | 93 nights | 5°F |
| Barron County, WI | 55 km north | 173 nights | 103 nights | 2°F |
Dunn County within WI
Dunn County ranks 31 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 901 ft, Dunn County sits 95 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.
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 Menomonie, WI, 9 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.