Will Pipes Freeze in Price County, WI? 114 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Price County
In a normal year Price County, WI gets 114 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 96% 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 | 190 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 114 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 71 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 42 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 114 nights of risk to 71 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 09/23, last around 05/23. For 20°F: 10/28 to 04/16.
How cold Price County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 4°F; the coldest month, January, averages 1°F overnight. 10 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, April, November, December: 71 nights a year, and 42 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1°F | 3°F | 15°F | 29°F | 41°F | 51°F | 55°F | 53°F | 45°F | 33°F | 22°F | 9°F |
Price County next to its neighbours
Taylor County, WI, 53 km south, gets 103 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price County, WI | - | 190 nights | 114 nights | 1°F |
| Taylor County, WI | 53 km south | 177 nights | 103 nights | 3°F |
| Lincoln County, WI | 62 km southeast | 180 nights | 106 nights | 2°F |
| Oneida County, WI | 64 km east | 187 nights | 108 nights | 2°F |
| Sawyer County, WI | 64 km west | 188 nights | 109 nights | 2°F |
| Rusk County, WI | 65 km west | 192 nights | 108 nights | 2°F |
| Iron County, WI | 72 km north | 192 nights | 113 nights | 3°F |
Price County within WI
Price County ranks 2 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 1,490 ft, Price County sits 494 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 Prentice #2, WI, 16 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.