Will Pipes Freeze in Gogebic County, MI? 116 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Gogebic County
In a normal year Gogebic County, MI gets 116 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 97% 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 | 199 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 116 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 71 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 38 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 116 nights of risk to 71 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 09/27, last around 05/26. For 20°F: 11/03 to 04/22.
How cold Gogebic County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 6°F; the coldest month, January, averages 3°F overnight. 10 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, April, November, December: 71 nights a year, and 38 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3°F | 3°F | 12°F | 26°F | 39°F | 50°F | 54°F | 52°F | 45°F | 34°F | 23°F | 11°F |
Gogebic County next to its neighbours
Iron County, WI, 40 km southwest, gets 113 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gogebic County, MI | - | 199 nights | 116 nights | 3°F |
| Iron County, WI | 40 km southwest | 192 nights | 113 nights | 3°F |
| Vilas County, WI | 53 km southeast | 193 nights | 116 nights | 1°F |
| Ontonagon County, MI | 55 km northeast | 177 nights | 95 nights | 9°F |
| Ashland County, WI | 68 km west | 182 nights | 99 nights | 6°F |
| Oneida County, WI | 88 km south | 187 nights | 108 nights | 2°F |
| Price County, WI | 100 km southwest | 190 nights | 114 nights | 1°F |
Gogebic County within MI
Gogebic County ranks 2 of 83 MI counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Iron County, MI at 120 nights, with a 3°F average winter low. The fewest is Allegan County, MI: 38 nights, winter lows near 24°F. At 1,328 ft, Gogebic County sits 521 ft above the state's median county elevation of 808 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 Bergland Dam, MI, 21 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.