Will Pipes Freeze in Osceola County, IA? 99 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Osceola County
In a normal year Osceola County, IA gets 99 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 91% 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 | 171 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 99 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 59 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 32 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 99 nights of risk to 59 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 10/03, last around 05/05. For 20°F: 11/01 to 04/07.
How cold Osceola County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 8°F; the coldest month, January, averages 5°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: 59 nights a year, and 32 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5°F | 9°F | 21°F | 33°F | 46°F | 57°F | 61°F | 58°F | 50°F | 36°F | 23°F | 11°F |
Osceola County next to its neighbours
O'Brien County, IA, 33 km south, gets 83 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Osceola County, IA | - | 171 nights | 99 nights | 5°F |
| O'Brien County, IA | 33 km south | 153 nights | 83 nights | 9°F |
| Nobles County, MN | 35 km north | 168 nights | 97 nights | 5°F |
| Dickinson County, IA | 35 km east | 157 nights | 89 nights | 7°F |
| Lyon County, IA | 46 km west | 168 nights | 96 nights | 6°F |
| Jackson County, MN | 51 km northeast | 168 nights | 99 nights | 5°F |
| Clay County, IA | 51 km southeast | 162 nights | 89 nights | 8°F |
Osceola County within IA
Osceola County ranks 1 of 99 IA counties for nights below 20°F. The fewest is Des Moines County, IA: 52 nights, winter lows near 19°F. At 1,568 ft, Osceola County sits 478 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.
The dates to be done by: when freeze season starts and ends.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Sibley, IA, 10 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.