Will Pipes Freeze in Lee County, IA? 56 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Lee County
In a normal year Lee County, IA gets 56 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 69% 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 | 124 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 56 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 26 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 9 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 56 nights of risk to 26 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 10/22, last around 04/17. For 20°F: 11/19 to 03/17.
How cold Lee 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: 26 nights a year, and 9 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16°F | 19°F | 30°F | 41°F | 53°F | 62°F | 66°F | 64°F | 55°F | 44°F | 32°F | 21°F |
Lee County next to its neighbours
Henry County, IA, 38 km north, gets 58 nights below 20°F to Lee County's 56 nights. Clark County, MO, 34 km southwest, gets 55 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee County, IA | - | 124 nights | 56 nights | 16°F |
| Clark County, MO | 34 km southwest | 125 nights | 55 nights | 15°F |
| Hancock County, IL | 38 km southeast | 124 nights | 51 nights | 17°F |
| Henry County, IA | 38 km north | 130 nights | 58 nights | 13°F |
| Des Moines County, IA | 39 km northeast | 121 nights | 52 nights | 16°F |
| Van Buren County, IA | 42 km west | 128 nights | 55 nights | 14°F |
| Henderson County, IL | 49 km northeast | 121 nights | 52 nights | 16°F |
Lee County within IA
Lee County ranks 96 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 649 ft, Lee County sits 441 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 Donnellson, IA, 7 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.