Will Pipes Freeze in Iroquois County, IL? 56 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Iroquois County
In a normal year Iroquois County, IL gets 56 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 69% 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 | 134 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 56 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 25 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 10 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 56 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 10/16, last around 04/24. For 20°F: 11/18 to 03/21.
How cold Iroquois County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 19°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, November, December: 25 nights a year, and 10 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16°F | 19°F | 29°F | 38°F | 50°F | 60°F | 63°F | 60°F | 52°F | 41°F | 31°F | 21°F |
Iroquois County next to its neighbours
Benton County, IN, 47 km east, gets 57 nights below 20°F to Iroquois County's 56 nights. Ford County, IL, 37 km southwest, gets 55 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Iroquois County, IL | - | 134 nights | 56 nights | 16°F |
| Ford County, IL | 37 km southwest | 132 nights | 55 nights | 16°F |
| Newton County, IN | 43 km northeast | 131 nights | 53 nights | 16°F |
| Kankakee County, IL | 43 km north | 129 nights | 54 nights | 16°F |
| Benton County, IN | 47 km east | 136 nights | 57 nights | 16°F |
| Warren County, IN | 59 km southeast | 130 nights | 54 nights | 16°F |
| Livingston County, IL | 63 km west | 124 nights | 53 nights | 17°F |
Iroquois County within IL
Iroquois County ranks 23 of 102 IL counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Jo Daviess County, IL at 76 nights, with a 14°F average winter low. The fewest is Alexander County, IL: 21 nights, winter lows near 29°F. At 647 ft, Iroquois County sits close to the state's median county elevation of 632 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 Watseka (2 mi NW), IL, 8 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.