Will Pipes Freeze in Kossuth County, IA? 90 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Kossuth County
In a normal year Kossuth County, IA gets 90 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 87% 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 | 161 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 90 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 52 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 27 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 90 nights of risk to 52 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 10/06, last around 04/30. For 20°F: 11/05 to 04/01.
How cold Kossuth County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 9°F; the coldest month, January, averages 6°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, November, December: 52 nights a year, and 27 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6°F | 10°F | 22°F | 34°F | 46°F | 58°F | 61°F | 59°F | 50°F | 37°F | 24°F | 12°F |
Kossuth County next to its neighbours
Emmet County, IA, 41 km northwest, gets 91 nights below 20°F to Kossuth County's 90 nights. Palo Alto County, IA, 40 km west, gets 83 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kossuth County, IA | - | 161 nights | 90 nights | 6°F |
| Palo Alto County, IA | 40 km west | 153 nights | 83 nights | 7°F |
| Hancock County, IA | 41 km east | 160 nights | 89 nights | 6°F |
| Emmet County, IA | 41 km northwest | 164 nights | 91 nights | 6°F |
| Winnebago County, IA | 42 km northeast | 159 nights | 89 nights | 6°F |
| Humboldt County, IA | 48 km south | 154 nights | 82 nights | 8°F |
| Faribault County, MN | 56 km northeast | 159 nights | 91 nights | 6°F |
Kossuth County within IA
Kossuth County ranks 6 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 1,182 ft, Kossuth County sits 93 ft above 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.
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 Algona, IA, 16 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.