Will Pipes Freeze in Oconto County, WI? 93 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Oconto County
In a normal year Oconto County, WI gets 93 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 89% 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 | 175 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 93 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 53 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 28 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 93 nights of risk to 53 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 05/14. For 20°F: 11/07 to 04/08.
How cold Oconto County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 9°F; the coldest month, January, averages 6°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: 53 nights a year, and 28 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6°F | 8°F | 19°F | 31°F | 43°F | 53°F | 57°F | 56°F | 47°F | 36°F | 25°F | 14°F |
Oconto County next to its neighbours
Menominee County, WI, 36 km west, gets 96 nights below 20°F to Oconto County's 93 nights. Brown County, WI, 60 km south, gets 79 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oconto County, WI | - | 175 nights | 93 nights | 6°F |
| Menominee County, WI | 36 km west | 176 nights | 96 nights | 6°F |
| Marinette County, WI | 42 km northeast | 188 nights | 103 nights | 5°F |
| Shawano County, WI | 49 km southwest | 172 nights | 94 nights | 6°F |
| Brown County, WI | 60 km south | 154 nights | 79 nights | 10°F |
| Outagamie County, WI | 67 km south | 161 nights | 85 nights | 9°F |
| Langlade County, WI | 73 km northwest | 183 nights | 106 nights | 4°F |
Oconto County within WI
Oconto County ranks 28 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 830 ft, Oconto County sits 165 ft below 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.
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 Suring, WI, 14 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.