Will Pipes Freeze in Palo Alto County, IA? 83 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Palo Alto County
In a normal year Palo Alto 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 November 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 | 48 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 23 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 83 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 10/07, last around 04/27. For 20°F: 11/06 to 03/31.
How cold Palo Alto County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 11°F; the coldest month, January, averages 7°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: 48 nights a year, and 23 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7°F | 12°F | 24°F | 36°F | 49°F | 59°F | 63°F | 60°F | 51°F | 38°F | 26°F | 14°F |
Palo Alto County next to its neighbours
Emmet County, IA, 34 km north, gets 91 nights below 20°F to Palo Alto County's 83 nights. Humboldt County, IA, 50 km southeast, gets 82 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Palo Alto County, IA | - | 153 nights | 83 nights | 7°F |
| Emmet County, IA | 34 km north | 164 nights | 91 nights | 6°F |
| Pocahontas County, IA | 38 km south | 157 nights | 86 nights | 8°F |
| Clay County, IA | 39 km west | 162 nights | 89 nights | 8°F |
| Kossuth County, IA | 40 km northeast | 161 nights | 90 nights | 6°F |
| Humboldt County, IA | 50 km southeast | 154 nights | 82 nights | 8°F |
| Buena Vista County, IA | 53 km southwest | 154 nights | 85 nights | 8°F |
Palo Alto County within IA
Palo Alto County ranks 25 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 1,209 ft, Palo Alto County sits 119 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 Emmetsburg, IA, 3 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. Why elevation is part of the blend: how county numbers are made.