Will Pipes Freeze in O'Brien County, IA? 83 nights a Year
Freeze nights in O'Brien County
In a normal year O'Brien County, IA 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 October to April, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 153 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 83 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 46 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 46 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 10/10, last around 04/29. For 20°F: 11/06 to 04/01.
How cold O'Brien County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 13°F; the coldest month, January, averages 9°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: 46 nights a year, and 22 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9°F | 14°F | 26°F | 37°F | 49°F | 60°F | 64°F | 62°F | 53°F | 40°F | 27°F | 15°F |
O'Brien County next to its neighbours
Osceola County, IA, 33 km north, gets 99 nights below 20°F to O'Brien County's 83 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| O'Brien County, IA | - | 153 nights | 83 nights | 9°F |
| Osceola County, IA | 33 km north | 171 nights | 99 nights | 5°F |
| Cherokee County, IA | 38 km south | 161 nights | 88 nights | 8°F |
| Clay County, IA | 39 km east | 162 nights | 89 nights | 8°F |
| Sioux County, IA | 45 km west | 155 nights | 83 nights | 9°F |
| Dickinson County, IA | 49 km northeast | 157 nights | 89 nights | 7°F |
| Buena Vista County, IA | 55 km southeast | 154 nights | 85 nights | 8°F |
O'Brien County within IA
O'Brien County ranks 30 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 1,527 ft, O'Brien County sits 438 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.
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 Primghar, IA, 0 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.