Will Pipes Freeze in Mitchell County, IA? 86 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Mitchell County
In a normal year Mitchell County, IA gets 86 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 85% 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 | 157 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 86 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 49 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 25 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 86 nights of risk to 49 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 10/09, last around 04/30. For 20°F: 11/07 to 03/31.
How cold Mitchell County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 10°F; the coldest month, January, averages 6°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, November, December: 49 nights a year, and 25 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6°F | 10°F | 23°F | 35°F | 47°F | 58°F | 62°F | 59°F | 50°F | 38°F | 25°F | 14°F |
Mitchell County next to its neighbours
Mower County, MN, 35 km north, gets 94 nights below 20°F to Mitchell County's 86 nights. Floyd County, IA, 33 km south, gets 81 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mitchell County, IA | - | 157 nights | 86 nights | 6°F |
| Floyd County, IA | 33 km south | 154 nights | 81 nights | 8°F |
| Mower County, MN | 35 km north | 167 nights | 94 nights | 5°F |
| Howard County, IA | 37 km east | 166 nights | 93 nights | 6°F |
| Worth County, IA | 38 km west | 164 nights | 92 nights | 4°F |
| Cerro Gordo County, IA | 49 km southwest | 161 nights | 88 nights | 7°F |
| Chickasaw County, IA | 50 km southeast | 158 nights | 84 nights | 6°F |
Mitchell County within IA
Mitchell County ranks 16 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 1,189 ft, Mitchell County sits 99 ft above 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 Osage, IA, 8 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.