Will Pipes Freeze in DuPage County, IL? 58 nights a Year
Freeze nights in DuPage County
In a normal year DuPage County, IL gets 58 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 71% 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 | 136 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 58 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 25 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 9 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 58 nights of risk to 25 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 10/16, last around 04/28. For 20°F: 11/17 to 03/26.
How cold DuPage County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 19°F; the coldest month, January, averages 16°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: 25 nights a year, and 9 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16°F | 19°F | 27°F | 37°F | 48°F | 58°F | 63°F | 61°F | 53°F | 42°F | 31°F | 22°F |
DuPage County next to its neighbours
Kane County, IL, 30 km west, gets 61 nights below 20°F to DuPage County's 58 nights. Cook County, IL, 37 km east, gets 36 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DuPage County, IL | - | 136 nights | 58 nights | 16°F |
| Kane County, IL | 30 km west | 138 nights | 61 nights | 15°F |
| Cook County, IL | 37 km east | 98 nights | 36 nights | 20°F |
| Kendall County, IL | 41 km southwest | 136 nights | 59 nights | 15°F |
| Lake County, IL | 44 km northeast | 127 nights | 53 nights | 17°F |
| Will County, IL | 46 km south | 125 nights | 52 nights | 16°F |
| DeKalb County, IL | 57 km west | 141 nights | 64 nights | 13°F |
DuPage County within IL
DuPage County ranks 16 of 102 IL counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Jo Daviess County, IL at 76 nights, with a 14°F average winter low. The fewest is Alexander County, IL: 21 nights, winter lows near 29°F. At 759 ft, DuPage County sits 127 ft above the state's median county elevation of 632 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 Lisle-Morton Arboretum, IL, 5 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.