Will Pipes Freeze in Kankakee County, IL? 54 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Kankakee County
In a normal year Kankakee County, IL gets 54 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 68% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs November to March, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 129 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 54 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 24 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 8 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 54 nights of risk to 24 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 10/24, last around 04/19. For 20°F: 11/24 to 03/17.
How cold Kankakee County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 19°F; the coldest month, January, averages 16°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: 24 nights a year, and 8 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16°F | 20°F | 29°F | 39°F | 51°F | 61°F | 65°F | 63°F | 55°F | 43°F | 32°F | 22°F |
Kankakee County next to its neighbours
Iroquois County, IL, 43 km south, gets 56 nights below 20°F to Kankakee County's 54 nights. Will County, IL, 36 km north, gets 52 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kankakee County, IL | - | 129 nights | 54 nights | 16°F |
| Will County, IL | 36 km north | 125 nights | 52 nights | 16°F |
| Newton County, IN | 43 km southeast | 131 nights | 53 nights | 16°F |
| Iroquois County, IL | 43 km south | 134 nights | 56 nights | 16°F |
| Grundy County, IL | 48 km west | 129 nights | 55 nights | 16°F |
| Lake County, IN | 55 km northeast | 128 nights | 53 nights | 16°F |
| Jasper County, IN | 64 km east | 130 nights | 53 nights | 16°F |
Kankakee County within IL
Kankakee County ranks 29 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 634 ft, Kankakee 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.
The dates to be done by: when freeze season starts and ends.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Kankakee Metro Wastewater, IL, 2 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. Why elevation is part of the blend: how county numbers are made.