Will Pipes Freeze in Emmet County, IA? 91 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Emmet County
In a normal year Emmet County, IA 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 | 54 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 27 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 91 nights of risk to 54 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 10/03, last around 05/02. For 20°F: 11/02 to 04/03.
How cold Emmet County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 9°F; the coldest month, January, averages 6°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: 54 nights a year, and 27 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6°F | 10°F | 23°F | 33°F | 46°F | 57°F | 60°F | 57°F | 48°F | 36°F | 23°F | 12°F |
Emmet County next to its neighbours
Jackson County, MN, 51 km northwest, gets 99 nights below 20°F to Emmet County's 91 nights. Palo Alto County, IA, 34 km south, gets 83 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emmet County, IA | - | 164 nights | 91 nights | 6°F |
| Palo Alto County, IA | 34 km south | 153 nights | 83 nights | 7°F |
| Martin County, MN | 35 km north | 153 nights | 86 nights | 6°F |
| Kossuth County, IA | 41 km southeast | 161 nights | 90 nights | 6°F |
| Dickinson County, IA | 43 km west | 157 nights | 89 nights | 7°F |
| Jackson County, MN | 51 km northwest | 168 nights | 99 nights | 5°F |
| Clay County, IA | 51 km southwest | 162 nights | 89 nights | 8°F |
Emmet County within IA
Emmet County ranks 5 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 1,297 ft, Emmet County sits 207 ft above 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.
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 Estherville (4 mi E), IA, 7 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. Why elevation is part of the blend: how county numbers are made.