Will Pipes Freeze in Ford County, IL? 55 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Ford County
In a normal year Ford County, IL gets 55 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 68% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs November to March, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 132 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 55 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 24 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 8 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 55 nights of risk to 24 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 10/12, last around 04/23. For 20°F: 11/16 to 03/22.
How cold Ford County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 19°F; the coldest month, January, averages 16°F overnight. 7 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, November, December: 24 nights a year, and 8 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16°F | 19°F | 29°F | 39°F | 51°F | 60°F | 63°F | 61°F | 53°F | 41°F | 31°F | 22°F |
Ford County next to its neighbours
Iroquois County, IL, 37 km northeast, gets 56 nights below 20°F to Ford County's 55 nights. Livingston County, IL, 43 km northwest, gets 53 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ford County, IL | - | 132 nights | 55 nights | 16°F |
| Iroquois County, IL | 37 km northeast | 134 nights | 56 nights | 16°F |
| Livingston County, IL | 43 km northwest | 124 nights | 53 nights | 17°F |
| Champaign County, IL | 51 km south | 121 nights | 45 nights | 18°F |
| McLean County, IL | 54 km west | 132 nights | 57 nights | 16°F |
| Vermilion County, IL | 62 km southeast | 115 nights | 43 nights | 19°F |
| Kankakee County, IL | 68 km northeast | 129 nights | 54 nights | 16°F |
Ford County within IL
Ford County ranks 28 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 782 ft, Ford County sits 150 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.
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 Paxton (2 mi WSW), IL, 17 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.