Will Pipes Freeze in Iowa County, WI? 83 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Iowa County
In a normal year Iowa County, WI gets 83 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 November to April, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 159 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 83 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 44 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 20 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 83 nights of risk to 44 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 10/07, last around 05/03. For 20°F: 11/08 to 04/01.
How cold Iowa County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 12°F; the coldest month, January, averages 9°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: 44 nights a year, and 20 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9°F | 12°F | 23°F | 34°F | 46°F | 56°F | 60°F | 58°F | 49°F | 38°F | 26°F | 16°F |
Iowa County next to its neighbours
Richland County, WI, 48 km northwest, gets 89 nights below 20°F to Iowa County's 83 nights. Lafayette County, WI, 38 km south, gets 79 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iowa County, WI | - | 159 nights | 83 nights | 9°F |
| Lafayette County, WI | 38 km south | 157 nights | 79 nights | 9°F |
| Grant County, WI | 48 km west | 150 nights | 77 nights | 9°F |
| Richland County, WI | 48 km northwest | 165 nights | 89 nights | 8°F |
| Sauk County, WI | 50 km north | 149 nights | 75 nights | 10°F |
| Green County, WI | 56 km southeast | 150 nights | 74 nights | 11°F |
| Dane County, WI | 59 km east | 155 nights | 79 nights | 11°F |
Iowa County within WI
Iowa County ranks 45 of 72 WI counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Vilas County, WI at 116 nights, with a 4°F average winter low. The fewest is Racine County, WI: 55 nights, winter lows near 19°F. At 1,193 ft, Iowa County sits 198 ft above the state's median county elevation of 995 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 Dodgeville Wastewater Plant, WI, 5 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.