Will Pipes Freeze in Wabasha County, MN? 94 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Wabasha County
In a normal year Wabasha County, MN gets 94 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 89% 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 | 168 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 94 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 55 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 32 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 94 nights of risk to 55 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 10/02, last around 05/07. For 20°F: 11/02 to 04/06.
How cold Wabasha County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 8°F; the coldest month, January, averages 5°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: 55 nights a year, and 32 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5°F | 8°F | 21°F | 34°F | 46°F | 57°F | 60°F | 58°F | 49°F | 36°F | 25°F | 13°F |
Wabasha County next to its neighbours
Pierce County, WI, 51 km north, gets 95 nights below 20°F to Wabasha County's 94 nights. Olmsted County, MN, 35 km southwest, gets 90 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wabasha County, MN | - | 168 nights | 94 nights | 5°F |
| Olmsted County, MN | 35 km southwest | 162 nights | 90 nights | 6°F |
| Buffalo County, WI | 39 km east | 147 nights | 78 nights | 8°F |
| Goodhue County, MN | 40 km west | 164 nights | 92 nights | 4°F |
| Pepin County, WI | 49 km northeast | 159 nights | 89 nights | 6°F |
| Winona County, MN | 50 km southeast | 150 nights | 81 nights | 8°F |
| Pierce County, WI | 51 km north | 166 nights | 95 nights | 2°F |
Wabasha County within MN
Wabasha County ranks 62 of 87 MN counties for nights below 20°F. The most is St. Louis County, MN at 130 nights, with a 0°F average winter low. The fewest is Winona County, MN: 81 nights, winter lows near 12°F. At 955 ft, Wabasha County sits 159 ft below the state's median county elevation of 1,114 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 Theilman (1 mi SSW), MN, 3 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.