Will Pipes Freeze in Fayette County, IA? 88 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Fayette County
In a normal year Fayette County, IA gets 88 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 86% 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 | 88 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 48 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 26 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 88 nights of risk to 48 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 10/04, last around 05/04. For 20°F: 11/02 to 04/04.
How cold Fayette County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 10°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: 48 nights a year, and 26 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6°F | 9°F | 22°F | 33°F | 45°F | 56°F | 60°F | 57°F | 48°F | 36°F | 24°F | 13°F |
Fayette County next to its neighbours
Bremer County, IA, 41 km west, gets 83 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fayette County, IA | - | 164 nights | 88 nights | 6°F |
| Bremer County, IA | 41 km west | 157 nights | 83 nights | 7°F |
| Clayton County, IA | 42 km east | 154 nights | 81 nights | 8°F |
| Buchanan County, IA | 44 km south | 152 nights | 78 nights | 8°F |
| Chickasaw County, IA | 44 km northwest | 158 nights | 84 nights | 6°F |
| Winneshiek County, IA | 48 km north | 159 nights | 85 nights | 9°F |
| Black Hawk County, IA | 58 km southwest | 150 nights | 77 nights | 10°F |
Fayette County within IA
Fayette County ranks 13 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 1,131 ft, Fayette 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.
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 Fayette, IA, 2 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.