Will Pipes Freeze in Marshall County, IN? 54 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Marshall County
In a normal year Marshall County, IN gets 54 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 67% 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 | 132 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 54 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 22 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 8 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 54 nights of risk to 22 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 10/21, last around 04/25. For 20°F: 11/24 to 03/23.
How cold Marshall County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 19°F; the coldest month, January, averages 17°F overnight. 8 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, December: 22 nights a year, and 8 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17°F | 18°F | 28°F | 38°F | 49°F | 59°F | 63°F | 61°F | 53°F | 42°F | 32°F | 23°F |
Marshall County next to its neighbours
Starke County, IN, 32 km west, gets 56 nights below 20°F to Marshall County's 54 nights. Fulton County, IN, 31 km south, gets 50 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marshall County, IN | - | 132 nights | 54 nights | 17°F |
| Fulton County, IN | 31 km south | 128 nights | 50 nights | 17°F |
| Starke County, IN | 32 km west | 137 nights | 56 nights | 16°F |
| St. Joseph County, IN | 33 km north | 133 nights | 51 nights | 16°F |
| Kosciusko County, IN | 35 km east | 131 nights | 52 nights | 17°F |
| Elkhart County, IN | 46 km northeast | 127 nights | 49 nights | 18°F |
| LaPorte County, IN | 47 km northwest | 123 nights | 49 nights | 17°F |
Marshall County within IN
Marshall County ranks 8 of 92 IN counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Steuben County, IN at 63 nights, with a 19°F average winter low. The fewest is Floyd County, IN: 19 nights, winter lows near 29°F. At 813 ft, Marshall County sits 54 ft above the state's median county elevation of 759 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 Plymouth, IN, 6 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.