Will Pipes Freeze in Richland County, WI? 89 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Richland County
In a normal year Richland County, WI gets 89 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 November to April, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 165 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 89 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 48 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 24 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 89 nights of risk to 48 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 10/06, last around 05/05. For 20°F: 11/06 to 04/03.
How cold Richland County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 11°F; the coldest month, January, averages 8°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: 48 nights a year, and 24 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8°F | 11°F | 23°F | 34°F | 45°F | 56°F | 60°F | 58°F | 49°F | 37°F | 26°F | 15°F |
Richland County next to its neighbours
Sauk County, WI, 40 km east, gets 75 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richland County, WI | - | 165 nights | 89 nights | 8°F |
| Vernon County, WI | 40 km northwest | 164 nights | 89 nights | 7°F |
| Sauk County, WI | 40 km east | 149 nights | 75 nights | 10°F |
| Crawford County, WI | 43 km west | 147 nights | 76 nights | 8°F |
| Iowa County, WI | 48 km southeast | 159 nights | 83 nights | 9°F |
| Grant County, WI | 60 km south | 150 nights | 77 nights | 9°F |
| Monroe County, WI | 65 km north | 165 nights | 87 nights | 7°F |
Richland County within WI
Richland County ranks 36 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 773 ft, Richland County sits 222 ft below 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 Richland Ctr, WI, 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.