Will Pipes Freeze in Pepin County, WI? 89 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Pepin County
In a normal year Pepin County, WI gets 89 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 87% 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 | 159 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 89 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 89 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 10/02, last around 05/10. For 20°F: 11/01 to 04/08.
How cold Pepin County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 10°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 | 10°F | 22°F | 34°F | 47°F | 57°F | 61°F | 59°F | 51°F | 38°F | 26°F | 14°F |
Pepin County next to its neighbours
Dunn County, WI, 36 km north, gets 91 nights below 20°F to Pepin County's 89 nights. Buffalo County, WI, 28 km south, gets 78 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pepin County, WI | - | 159 nights | 89 nights | 6°F |
| Buffalo County, WI | 28 km south | 147 nights | 78 nights | 8°F |
| Dunn County, WI | 36 km north | 164 nights | 91 nights | 4°F |
| Eau Claire County, WI | 45 km east | 163 nights | 93 nights | 5°F |
| Pierce County, WI | 48 km west | 166 nights | 95 nights | 2°F |
| Wabasha County, MN | 49 km southwest | 168 nights | 94 nights | 5°F |
| Trempealeau County, WI | 52 km southeast | 172 nights | 96 nights | 5°F |
Pepin County within WI
Pepin County ranks 37 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 1,246 ft, Pepin County sits 250 ft above 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 Mondovi, WI, 15 km away (fair 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.