Will Pipes Freeze in Pipestone County, MN? 104 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Pipestone County
In a normal year Pipestone County, MN gets 104 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 93% 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 | 173 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 104 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 61 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 35 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 104 nights of risk to 61 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 05/04. For 20°F: 11/01 to 04/07.
How cold Pipestone 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: 61 nights a year, and 35 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5°F | 9°F | 21°F | 34°F | 46°F | 57°F | 61°F | 59°F | 50°F | 36°F | 23°F | 11°F |
Pipestone County next to its neighbours
Lincoln County, MN, 44 km north, gets 105 nights below 20°F to Pipestone County's 104 nights. Rock County, MN, 38 km south, gets 94 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pipestone County, MN | - | 173 nights | 104 nights | 5°F |
| Moody County, SD | 34 km west | 175 nights | 103 nights | 4°F |
| Rock County, MN | 38 km south | 165 nights | 94 nights | 7°F |
| Murray County, MN | 40 km east | 168 nights | 97 nights | 4°F |
| Lincoln County, MN | 44 km north | 172 nights | 105 nights | 4°F |
| Nobles County, MN | 55 km southeast | 168 nights | 97 nights | 5°F |
| Lyon County, MN | 55 km northeast | 158 nights | 93 nights | 4°F |
Pipestone County within MN
Pipestone County ranks 35 of 87 MN counties for nights below 20°F. The most is St. Louis County, MN at 130 nights, with a 0°F average winter low. The fewest is Winona County, MN: 81 nights, winter lows near 12°F. At 1,749 ft, Pipestone County sits 635 ft above the state's median county elevation of 1,114 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 Pipestone, MN, 6 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.