Will Pipes Freeze in Sawyer County, WI? 109 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Sawyer County
In a normal year Sawyer County, WI gets 109 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 | 188 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 109 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 67 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 41 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 109 nights of risk to 67 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 09/27, last around 05/19. For 20°F: 11/01 to 04/15.
How cold Sawyer County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 6°F; the coldest month, January, averages 2°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: 67 nights a year, and 41 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2°F | 5°F | 18°F | 30°F | 41°F | 51°F | 55°F | 53°F | 46°F | 35°F | 23°F | 10°F |
Sawyer County next to its neighbours
Price County, WI, 64 km east, gets 114 nights below 20°F to Sawyer County's 109 nights. Rusk County, WI, 44 km south, gets 108 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sawyer County, WI | - | 188 nights | 109 nights | 2°F |
| Rusk County, WI | 44 km south | 192 nights | 108 nights | 2°F |
| Washburn County, WI | 50 km west | 173 nights | 100 nights | 2°F |
| Price County, WI | 64 km east | 190 nights | 114 nights | 1°F |
| Barron County, WI | 73 km southwest | 173 nights | 103 nights | 2°F |
| Ashland County, WI | 84 km northeast | 182 nights | 99 nights | 6°F |
| Iron County, WI | 85 km northeast | 192 nights | 113 nights | 3°F |
Sawyer County within WI
Sawyer County ranks 6 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 1,460 ft, Sawyer County sits 465 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 Winter, WI, 14 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. How a county figure is built from stations: how the numbers are made.