Will Pipes Freeze in Lincoln County, MN? 105 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Lincoln County
In a normal year Lincoln County, MN gets 105 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 94% 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 | 172 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 105 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 63 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 35 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 105 nights of risk to 63 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 10/03, last around 05/06. For 20°F: 11/02 to 04/08.
How cold Lincoln County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 7°F; the coldest month, January, averages 4°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: 63 nights a year, and 35 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4°F | 8°F | 20°F | 32°F | 45°F | 56°F | 60°F | 58°F | 49°F | 35°F | 22°F | 10°F |
Lincoln County next to its neighbours
Lyon County, MN, 34 km east, gets 93 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln County, MN | - | 172 nights | 105 nights | 4°F |
| Lyon County, MN | 34 km east | 158 nights | 93 nights | 4°F |
| Brookings County, SD | 42 km west | 176 nights | 105 nights | 4°F |
| Pipestone County, MN | 44 km south | 173 nights | 104 nights | 5°F |
| Yellow Medicine County, MN | 47 km northeast | 167 nights | 100 nights | 3°F |
| Deuel County, SD | 51 km northwest | 171 nights | 103 nights | 2°F |
| Moody County, SD | 55 km southwest | 175 nights | 103 nights | 4°F |
Lincoln County within MN
Lincoln County ranks 34 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 1,744 ft, Lincoln County sits 630 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.
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 Astoria (4 mi S), SD, 23 km away (fair 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.