Will Pipes Freeze in Jasper County, IA? 71 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Jasper County
In a normal year Jasper County, IA gets 71 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 77% 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 | 142 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 71 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 36 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 17 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 71 nights of risk to 36 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 10/17, last around 04/22. For 20°F: 11/11 to 03/27.
How cold Jasper County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 14°F; the coldest month, January, averages 11°F overnight. 7 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, November, December: 36 nights a year, and 17 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11°F | 15°F | 26°F | 37°F | 50°F | 60°F | 64°F | 61°F | 52°F | 40°F | 27°F | 17°F |
Jasper County next to its neighbours
Marshall County, IA, 40 km north, gets 76 nights below 20°F to Jasper County's 71 nights. Marion County, IA, 40 km south, gets 62 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jasper County, IA | - | 142 nights | 71 nights | 11°F |
| Marion County, IA | 40 km south | 133 nights | 62 nights | 13°F |
| Marshall County, IA | 40 km north | 151 nights | 76 nights | 10°F |
| Polk County, IA | 43 km west | 142 nights | 69 nights | 12°F |
| Poweshiek County, IA | 44 km east | 155 nights | 80 nights | 10°F |
| Story County, IA | 52 km northwest | 150 nights | 75 nights | 10°F |
| Mahaska County, IA | 53 km southeast | 143 nights | 70 nights | 12°F |
Jasper County within IA
Jasper County ranks 67 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 910 ft, Jasper County sits 179 ft below 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 Newton, IA, 4 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.