Will Pipes Freeze in Ida County, IA? 82 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Ida County
In a normal year Ida County, IA gets 82 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 83% 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 | 156 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 82 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 42 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 21 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 82 nights of risk to 42 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 04/27. For 20°F: 11/07 to 03/31.
How cold Ida County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 12°F; the coldest month, January, averages 8°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: 42 nights a year, and 21 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8°F | 13°F | 25°F | 36°F | 49°F | 60°F | 63°F | 61°F | 52°F | 39°F | 25°F | 15°F |
Ida County next to its neighbours
Sac County, IA, 33 km east, gets 83 nights below 20°F to Ida County's 82 nights. Crawford County, IA, 40 km south, gets 76 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ida County, IA | - | 156 nights | 82 nights | 8°F |
| Sac County, IA | 33 km east | 157 nights | 83 nights | 8°F |
| Crawford County, IA | 40 km south | 149 nights | 76 nights | 10°F |
| Cherokee County, IA | 40 km north | 161 nights | 88 nights | 8°F |
| Woodbury County, IA | 45 km west | 157 nights | 82 nights | 9°F |
| Buena Vista County, IA | 49 km northeast | 154 nights | 85 nights | 8°F |
| Monona County, IA | 53 km southwest | 149 nights | 76 nights | 9°F |
Ida County within IA
Ida County ranks 34 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 1,373 ft, Ida County sits 284 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 Ida Grove (5 mi NW), IA, 1 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.