Will Pipes Freeze in Lee County, IL? 66 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Lee County
In a normal year Lee County, IL gets 66 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 75% 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 | 145 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 66 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 34 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 14 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 66 nights of risk to 34 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 10/12, last around 04/27. For 20°F: 11/14 to 03/29.
How cold Lee County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 16°F; the coldest month, January, averages 13°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: 34 nights a year, and 14 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13°F | 16°F | 27°F | 37°F | 49°F | 59°F | 62°F | 61°F | 52°F | 40°F | 29°F | 19°F |
Lee County next to its neighbours
Ogle County, IL, 33 km north, gets 65 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee County, IL | - | 145 nights | 66 nights | 13°F |
| Ogle County, IL | 33 km north | 140 nights | 65 nights | 13°F |
| Bureau County, IL | 43 km southwest | 128 nights | 55 nights | 14°F |
| DeKalb County, IL | 47 km east | 141 nights | 64 nights | 13°F |
| Whiteside County, IL | 51 km west | 144 nights | 67 nights | 12°F |
| LaSalle County, IL | 57 km southeast | 130 nights | 55 nights | 15°F |
| Putnam County, IL | 61 km south | 126 nights | 51 nights | 16°F |
Lee County within IL
Lee County ranks 6 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 795 ft, Lee County sits 164 ft above 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.
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 Compton (1 mi NW), IL, 17 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. What a "fair" or "distant" station match means is in the method guide.