Will Pipes Freeze in Rice County, MN? 94 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Rice County
In a normal year Rice County, MN gets 94 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 November to April, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 167 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 94 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 56 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 31 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 94 nights of risk to 56 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 10/05, last around 05/05. For 20°F: 11/03 to 04/05.
How cold Rice County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 9°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: 56 nights a year, and 31 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5°F | 8°F | 21°F | 33°F | 46°F | 57°F | 61°F | 58°F | 50°F | 36°F | 24°F | 13°F |
Rice County next to its neighbours
Le Sueur County, MN, 34 km west, gets 93 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rice County, MN | - | 167 nights | 94 nights | 5°F |
| Le Sueur County, MN | 34 km west | 163 nights | 93 nights | 4°F |
| Steele County, MN | 38 km south | 160 nights | 91 nights | 5°F |
| Scott County, MN | 38 km northwest | 160 nights | 92 nights | 5°F |
| Dakota County, MN | 40 km northeast | 155 nights | 88 nights | 5°F |
| Waseca County, MN | 44 km southwest | 162 nights | 92 nights | 5°F |
| Goodhue County, MN | 47 km east | 164 nights | 92 nights | 4°F |
Rice County within MN
Rice County ranks 61 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 1,114 ft, Rice County sits close to 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.
The dates to be done by: when freeze season starts and ends.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Faribault, MN, 5 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.