Will Pipes Freeze in Koochiching County, MN? 124 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Koochiching County
In a normal year Koochiching County, MN gets 124 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 98% 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 | 197 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 124 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 87 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 57 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 124 nights of risk to 87 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 09/20, last around 05/24. For 20°F: 10/27 to 04/20.
How cold Koochiching County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: -2°F; the coldest month, January, averages -5°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: 87 nights a year, and 57 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -5°F | -2°F | 12°F | 27°F | 39°F | 50°F | 54°F | 52°F | 44°F | 32°F | 18°F | 2°F |
Koochiching County next to its neighbours
St. Louis County, MN, 120 km southeast, gets 130 nights below 20°F to Koochiching County's 124 nights. Itasca County, MN, 85 km south, gets 117 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Koochiching County, MN | - | 197 nights | 124 nights | -5°F |
| Itasca County, MN | 85 km south | 190 nights | 117 nights | -4°F |
| Beltrami County, MN | 100 km southwest | 187 nights | 122 nights | -3°F |
| Lake of the Woods County, MN | 101 km northwest | 189 nights | 122 nights | -5°F |
| St. Louis County, MN | 120 km southeast | 203 nights | 130 nights | -4°F |
| Clearwater County, MN | 140 km southwest | 194 nights | 124 nights | -4°F |
| Cass County, MN | 150 km south | 179 nights | 111 nights | 0°F |
Koochiching County within MN
Koochiching County ranks 4 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 1,201 ft, Koochiching County sits 87 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 Big Falls, MN, 6 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.