Will Pipes Freeze in Rusk County, WI? 108 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Rusk County
In a normal year Rusk County, WI gets 108 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 95% 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 | 192 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 108 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 66 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 45 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 108 nights of risk to 66 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 09/22, last around 05/27. For 20°F: 10/27 to 04/22.
How cold Rusk County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 5°F; the coldest month, January, averages 2°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, April, November, December: 66 nights a year, and 45 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2°F | 4°F | 16°F | 29°F | 40°F | 49°F | 53°F | 52°F | 44°F | 33°F | 23°F | 10°F |
Rusk County next to its neighbours
Sawyer County, WI, 44 km north, gets 109 nights below 20°F to Rusk County's 108 nights. Chippewa County, WI, 46 km south, gets 89 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rusk County, WI | - | 192 nights | 108 nights | 2°F |
| Sawyer County, WI | 44 km north | 188 nights | 109 nights | 2°F |
| Chippewa County, WI | 46 km south | 160 nights | 89 nights | 6°F |
| Barron County, WI | 56 km west | 173 nights | 103 nights | 2°F |
| Taylor County, WI | 57 km southeast | 177 nights | 103 nights | 3°F |
| Price County, WI | 65 km east | 190 nights | 114 nights | 1°F |
| Washburn County, WI | 69 km northwest | 173 nights | 100 nights | 2°F |
Rusk County within WI
Rusk County ranks 8 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 1,155 ft, Rusk County sits 160 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 Ladysmith (3 mi W), WI, 1 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.