Will Pipes Freeze in Itasca County, MN? 117 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Itasca County
In a normal year Itasca County, MN gets 117 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 97% 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 | 190 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 117 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 79 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 51 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 117 nights of risk to 79 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 10/02, last around 05/14. For 20°F: 11/05 to 04/14.
How cold Itasca County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 0°F; the coldest month, January, averages -4°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, April, November, December: 79 nights a year, and 51 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -4°F | -1°F | 13°F | 27°F | 40°F | 52°F | 56°F | 55°F | 46°F | 34°F | 20°F | 5°F |
Itasca County next to its neighbours
St. Louis County, MN, 83 km east, gets 130 nights below 20°F to Itasca County's 117 nights. Cass County, MN, 81 km southwest, gets 111 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Itasca County, MN | - | 190 nights | 117 nights | -4°F |
| Cass County, MN | 81 km southwest | 179 nights | 111 nights | 0°F |
| St. Louis County, MN | 83 km east | 203 nights | 130 nights | -4°F |
| Koochiching County, MN | 85 km north | 197 nights | 124 nights | -5°F |
| Aitkin County, MN | 100 km south | 183 nights | 111 nights | -1°F |
| Hubbard County, MN | 108 km southwest | 185 nights | 116 nights | -2°F |
| Beltrami County, MN | 113 km northwest | 187 nights | 122 nights | -3°F |
Itasca County within MN
Itasca County ranks 13 of 87 MN counties for nights below 20°F. The most is St. Louis County, MN at 130 nights, with a 0°F average winter low. The fewest is Winona County, MN: 81 nights, winter lows near 12°F. At 1,402 ft, Itasca County sits 288 ft above the state's median county elevation of 1,114 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 Marcell (5 mi NE), MN, 16 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.