Will Pipes Freeze in Howard County, IA? 93 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Howard County
In a normal year Howard County, IA gets 93 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 89% 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 | 166 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 93 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 52 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 28 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 93 nights of risk to 52 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 10/01, last around 05/08. For 20°F: 11/01 to 04/06.
How cold Howard County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 9°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: 52 nights a year, and 28 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6°F | 9°F | 22°F | 33°F | 46°F | 57°F | 60°F | 58°F | 49°F | 36°F | 24°F | 13°F |
Howard County next to its neighbours
Mower County, MN, 49 km northwest, gets 94 nights below 20°F to Howard County's 93 nights. Chickasaw County, IA, 34 km south, gets 84 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard County, IA | - | 166 nights | 93 nights | 6°F |
| Chickasaw County, IA | 34 km south | 158 nights | 84 nights | 6°F |
| Mitchell County, IA | 37 km west | 157 nights | 86 nights | 6°F |
| Winneshiek County, IA | 39 km east | 159 nights | 85 nights | 9°F |
| Fillmore County, MN | 39 km northeast | 167 nights | 93 nights | 4°F |
| Mower County, MN | 49 km northwest | 167 nights | 94 nights | 5°F |
| Floyd County, IA | 51 km southwest | 154 nights | 81 nights | 8°F |
Howard County within IA
Howard County ranks 3 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 1,287 ft, Howard County sits 197 ft above 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.
Interior pipes have a threshold too: the four freeze points.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Cresco (1 mi NE), IA, 19 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.