Will Pipes Freeze in Ramsey County, MN? 90 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Ramsey County
In a normal year Ramsey County, MN gets 90 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 | 155 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 90 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 52 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 26 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 90 nights of risk to 52 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 10/20, last around 04/23. For 20°F: 11/13 to 03/31.
How cold Ramsey County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 11°F; the coldest month, January, averages 7°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: 52 nights a year, and 26 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7°F | 11°F | 23°F | 36°F | 49°F | 59°F | 64°F | 62°F | 53°F | 40°F | 27°F | 15°F |
Ramsey County next to its neighbours
Washington County, MN, 17 km east, gets 94 nights below 20°F to Ramsey County's 90 nights. Hennepin County, MN, 30 km west, gets 88 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ramsey County, MN | - | 155 nights | 90 nights | 7°F |
| Washington County, MN | 17 km east | 158 nights | 94 nights | 6°F |
| Hennepin County, MN | 30 km west | 156 nights | 88 nights | 7°F |
| Anoka County, MN | 31 km north | 168 nights | 99 nights | 4°F |
| Dakota County, MN | 38 km south | 155 nights | 88 nights | 5°F |
| St. Croix County, WI | 51 km east | 170 nights | 102 nights | 2°F |
| Scott County, MN | 53 km southwest | 160 nights | 92 nights | 5°F |
Ramsey County within MN
Ramsey County ranks 81 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 954 ft, Ramsey County sits 160 ft below 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.
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 Vadnais Lake, MN, 4 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.