Will Pipes Freeze in Polk County, WI? 96 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Polk County
In a normal year Polk County, WI gets 96 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 90% 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 | 164 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 96 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 58 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 33 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 96 nights of risk to 58 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 10/04, last around 05/06. For 20°F: 11/05 to 04/07.
How cold Polk County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 8°F; the coldest month, January, averages 4°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: 58 nights a year, and 33 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4°F | 8°F | 20°F | 33°F | 46°F | 56°F | 60°F | 58°F | 50°F | 38°F | 25°F | 12°F |
Polk County next to its neighbours
Chisago County, MN, 36 km west, gets 103 nights below 20°F to Polk County's 96 nights. Washington County, MN, 59 km southwest, gets 94 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polk County, WI | - | 164 nights | 96 nights | 4°F |
| Chisago County, MN | 36 km west | 175 nights | 103 nights | 1°F |
| Burnett County, WI | 45 km north | 173 nights | 101 nights | 2°F |
| Barron County, WI | 46 km east | 173 nights | 103 nights | 2°F |
| St. Croix County, WI | 48 km south | 170 nights | 102 nights | 2°F |
| Washington County, MN | 59 km southwest | 158 nights | 94 nights | 6°F |
| Anoka County, MN | 66 km west | 168 nights | 99 nights | 4°F |
Polk County within WI
Polk County ranks 23 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 1,147 ft, Polk County sits 152 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.
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 Luck, WI, 13 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.