Will Pipes Freeze in Vilas County, WI? 116 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Vilas County
In a normal year Vilas County, WI gets 116 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 97% 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 | 193 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 116 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 73 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 42 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 116 nights of risk to 73 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 10/03, last around 05/19. For 20°F: 11/03 to 04/18.
How cold Vilas County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 4°F; the coldest month, January, averages 1°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: 73 nights a year, and 42 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1°F | 2°F | 13°F | 26°F | 40°F | 51°F | 55°F | 54°F | 46°F | 33°F | 22°F | 9°F |
Vilas County next to its neighbours
Iron County, MI, 75 km east, gets 120 nights below 20°F to Vilas County's 116 nights. Oneida County, WI, 37 km south, gets 108 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vilas County, WI | - | 193 nights | 116 nights | 1°F |
| Oneida County, WI | 37 km south | 187 nights | 108 nights | 2°F |
| Gogebic County, MI | 53 km northwest | 199 nights | 116 nights | 3°F |
| Iron County, WI | 66 km northwest | 192 nights | 113 nights | 3°F |
| Forest County, WI | 71 km southeast | 190 nights | 109 nights | 4°F |
| Iron County, MI | 75 km east | 205 nights | 120 nights | 0°F |
| Price County, WI | 78 km southwest | 190 nights | 114 nights | 1°F |
Vilas County within WI
Vilas County ranks 1 of 72 WI counties for nights below 20°F. The fewest is Racine County, WI: 55 nights, winter lows near 19°F. At 1,683 ft, Vilas County sits 687 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.
Interior pipes have a threshold too: the four freeze points.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is St Germain, WI, 15 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.