Will Pipes Freeze in Monroe County, WI? 87 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Monroe County
In a normal year Monroe County, WI gets 87 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 86% 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 | 165 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 87 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 48 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 25 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 87 nights of risk to 48 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 10/01, last around 05/09. For 20°F: 11/01 to 04/06.
How cold Monroe County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 10°F; the coldest month, January, averages 7°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: 48 nights a year, and 25 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7°F | 10°F | 21°F | 33°F | 45°F | 55°F | 59°F | 57°F | 48°F | 36°F | 25°F | 14°F |
Monroe County next to its neighbours
Vernon County, WI, 42 km southwest, gets 89 nights below 20°F to Monroe County's 87 nights. La Crosse County, WI, 40 km west, gets 72 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monroe County, WI | - | 165 nights | 87 nights | 7°F |
| La Crosse County, WI | 40 km west | 141 nights | 72 nights | 10°F |
| Juneau County, WI | 41 km east | 160 nights | 86 nights | 7°F |
| Vernon County, WI | 42 km southwest | 164 nights | 89 nights | 7°F |
| Jackson County, WI | 45 km north | 176 nights | 98 nights | 5°F |
| Richland County, WI | 65 km south | 165 nights | 89 nights | 8°F |
| Adams County, WI | 68 km east | 169 nights | 94 nights | 6°F |
Monroe County within WI
Monroe County ranks 39 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 1,016 ft, Monroe County sits close to 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.
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 Sparta, WI, 16 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. How a county figure is built from stations: how the numbers are made.