Will Pipes Freeze in Marquette County, WI? 83 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Marquette County
In a normal year Marquette County, WI gets 83 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 84% 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 | 159 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 83 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 44 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 22 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 83 nights of risk to 44 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 10/05, last around 05/03. For 20°F: 11/10 to 04/02.
How cold Marquette County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 12°F; the coldest month, January, averages 8°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: 44 nights a year, and 22 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8°F | 11°F | 23°F | 34°F | 46°F | 56°F | 60°F | 58°F | 50°F | 38°F | 26°F | 15°F |
Marquette County next to its neighbours
Adams County, WI, 33 km northwest, gets 94 nights below 20°F to Marquette County's 83 nights. Columbia County, WI, 40 km south, gets 79 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marquette County, WI | - | 159 nights | 83 nights | 8°F |
| Adams County, WI | 33 km northwest | 169 nights | 94 nights | 6°F |
| Waushara County, WI | 35 km northeast | 161 nights | 87 nights | 8°F |
| Green Lake County, WI | 36 km east | 160 nights | 85 nights | 9°F |
| Columbia County, WI | 40 km south | 154 nights | 79 nights | 9°F |
| Juneau County, WI | 58 km west | 160 nights | 86 nights | 7°F |
| Sauk County, WI | 62 km southwest | 149 nights | 75 nights | 10°F |
Marquette County within WI
Marquette County ranks 44 of 72 WI counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Vilas County, WI at 116 nights, with a 4°F average winter low. The fewest is Racine County, WI: 55 nights, winter lows near 19°F. At 860 ft, Marquette County sits 135 ft below the state's median county elevation of 995 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 Montello, WI, 9 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.