Will Pipes Freeze in Ionia County, MI? 64 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Ionia County
In a normal year Ionia County, MI gets 64 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 74% 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 | 148 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 64 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 25 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 7 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 64 nights of risk to 25 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 05/03. For 20°F: 11/22 to 04/01.
How cold Ionia County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 18°F; the coldest month, January, averages 16°F overnight. 8 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, December: 25 nights a year, and 7 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16°F | 16°F | 24°F | 35°F | 47°F | 57°F | 60°F | 59°F | 51°F | 40°F | 30°F | 22°F |
Ionia County next to its neighbours
Montcalm County, MI, 41 km north, gets 73 nights below 20°F to Ionia County's 64 nights. Clinton County, MI, 39 km east, gets 62 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ionia County, MI | - | 148 nights | 64 nights | 16°F |
| Clinton County, MI | 39 km east | 144 nights | 62 nights | 18°F |
| Kent County, MI | 40 km west | 139 nights | 49 nights | 17°F |
| Montcalm County, MI | 41 km north | 159 nights | 73 nights | 14°F |
| Eaton County, MI | 44 km southeast | 148 nights | 65 nights | 15°F |
| Barry County, MI | 45 km southwest | 148 nights | 64 nights | 17°F |
| Gratiot County, MI | 54 km northeast | 156 nights | 70 nights | 15°F |
Ionia County within MI
Ionia County ranks 50 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 808 ft, Ionia County sits close to 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 Ionia (2 mi SSW), MI, 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.