Will Pipes Freeze in Henry County, IA? 58 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Henry County
In a normal year Henry County, IA gets 58 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 70% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs November to April, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 130 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 58 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 27 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 11 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 58 nights of risk to 27 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 10/10, last around 04/30. For 20°F: 11/09 to 03/27.
How cold Henry County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 16°F; the coldest month, January, averages 13°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: 27 nights a year, and 11 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13°F | 17°F | 27°F | 38°F | 49°F | 58°F | 62°F | 60°F | 52°F | 41°F | 29°F | 18°F |
Henry County next to its neighbours
Washington County, IA, 41 km north, gets 65 nights below 20°F to Henry County's 58 nights. Des Moines County, IA, 31 km east, gets 52 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry County, IA | - | 130 nights | 58 nights | 13°F |
| Des Moines County, IA | 31 km east | 121 nights | 52 nights | 16°F |
| Jefferson County, IA | 35 km west | 127 nights | 54 nights | 14°F |
| Louisa County, IA | 36 km northeast | 131 nights | 57 nights | 12°F |
| Lee County, IA | 38 km south | 124 nights | 56 nights | 16°F |
| Washington County, IA | 41 km north | 139 nights | 65 nights | 12°F |
| Van Buren County, IA | 43 km southwest | 128 nights | 55 nights | 14°F |
Henry County within IA
Henry County ranks 93 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 731 ft, Henry County sits 359 ft below 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 Mount Pleasant (1 mi SSW), IA, 4 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.