Will Pipes Freeze in Mills County, IA? 69 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Mills County
In a normal year Mills County, IA gets 69 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 76% 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 | 144 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 69 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 32 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 12 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 69 nights of risk to 32 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 10/11, last around 04/23. For 20°F: 11/09 to 03/26.
How cold Mills County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 16°F; the coldest month, January, averages 12°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: 32 nights a year, and 12 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12°F | 16°F | 28°F | 38°F | 50°F | 61°F | 65°F | 62°F | 53°F | 40°F | 28°F | 18°F |
Mills County next to its neighbours
Pottawattamie County, IA, 35 km north, gets 73 nights below 20°F to Mills County's 69 nights. Fremont County, IA, 32 km south, gets 62 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mills County, IA | - | 144 nights | 69 nights | 12°F |
| Fremont County, IA | 32 km south | 135 nights | 62 nights | 13°F |
| Pottawattamie County, IA | 35 km north | 146 nights | 73 nights | 12°F |
| Montgomery County, IA | 39 km east | 143 nights | 70 nights | 12°F |
| Sarpy County, NE | 42 km west | 136 nights | 66 nights | 14°F |
| Cass County, NE | 46 km west | 139 nights | 66 nights | 14°F |
| Page County, IA | 52 km southeast | 145 nights | 70 nights | 12°F |
Mills County within IA
Mills County ranks 78 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 1,010 ft, Mills County sits 79 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.
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 Glenwood (3 mi SW), IA, 13 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.