Will Pipes Freeze in Greene County, IL? 45 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Greene County
In a normal year Greene County, IL gets 45 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 60% 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 | 120 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 45 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 17 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 5 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 45 nights of risk to 17 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 10/22, last around 04/13. For 20°F: 11/21 to 03/12.
How cold Greene County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 21°F; the coldest month, January, averages 18°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, December: 17 nights a year, and 5 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18°F | 22°F | 31°F | 42°F | 53°F | 62°F | 66°F | 64°F | 55°F | 43°F | 33°F | 24°F |
Greene County next to its neighbours
Scott County, IL, 32 km north, gets 50 nights below 20°F to Greene County's 45 nights. Jersey County, IL, 31 km south, gets 42 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greene County, IL | - | 120 nights | 45 nights | 18°F |
| Jersey County, IL | 31 km south | 117 nights | 42 nights | 19°F |
| Calhoun County, IL | 32 km southwest | 109 nights | 39 nights | 20°F |
| Scott County, IL | 32 km north | 122 nights | 50 nights | 18°F |
| Macoupin County, IL | 41 km east | 109 nights | 39 nights | 19°F |
| Morgan County, IL | 43 km north | 125 nights | 49 nights | 18°F |
| Pike County, IL | 52 km northwest | 119 nights | 46 nights | 19°F |
Greene County within IL
Greene County ranks 52 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 528 ft, Greene County sits 103 ft below 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.
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 White Hall (1 mi E), IL, 10 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.