Will Pipes Freeze in Scott County, IL? 50 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Scott County
In a normal year Scott County, IL gets 50 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 64% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs November to March, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 122 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 50 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 19 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 6 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 50 nights of risk to 19 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 04/18. For 20°F: 11/20 to 03/16.
How cold Scott County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 21°F; the coldest month, January, averages 18°F overnight. 7 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, December: 19 nights a year, and 6 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18°F | 21°F | 31°F | 41°F | 52°F | 62°F | 65°F | 63°F | 54°F | 43°F | 32°F | 23°F |
Scott County next to its neighbours
Morgan County, IL, 25 km east, gets 49 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott County, IL | - | 122 nights | 50 nights | 18°F |
| Morgan County, IL | 25 km east | 125 nights | 49 nights | 18°F |
| Greene County, IL | 32 km south | 120 nights | 45 nights | 18°F |
| Pike County, IL | 35 km west | 119 nights | 46 nights | 19°F |
| Cass County, IL | 42 km northeast | 124 nights | 49 nights | 18°F |
| Brown County, IL | 43 km northwest | 124 nights | 49 nights | 17°F |
| Calhoun County, IL | 55 km south | 109 nights | 39 nights | 20°F |
Scott County within IL
Scott County ranks 40 of 102 IL counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Jo Daviess County, IL at 76 nights, with a 14°F average winter low. The fewest is Alexander County, IL: 21 nights, winter lows near 29°F. At 553 ft, Scott County sits 78 ft below the state's median county elevation of 632 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 Winchester, IL, 2 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.