Will Pipes Freeze in Webster County, IA? 83 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Webster County
In a normal year Webster County, IA gets 83 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 84% 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 | 157 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 83 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 46 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 22 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 83 nights of risk to 46 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 10/08, last around 04/28. For 20°F: 11/06 to 04/01.
How cold Webster County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 11°F; the coldest month, January, averages 8°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: 46 nights a year, and 22 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8°F | 12°F | 24°F | 35°F | 48°F | 58°F | 62°F | 59°F | 50°F | 38°F | 25°F | 14°F |
Webster County next to its neighbours
Hamilton County, IA, 39 km east, gets 84 nights below 20°F to Webster County's 83 nights. Calhoun County, IA, 39 km west, gets 82 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Webster County, IA | - | 157 nights | 83 nights | 8°F |
| Hamilton County, IA | 39 km east | 160 nights | 84 nights | 7°F |
| Calhoun County, IA | 39 km west | 154 nights | 82 nights | 8°F |
| Humboldt County, IA | 39 km north | 154 nights | 82 nights | 8°F |
| Greene County, IA | 47 km south | 149 nights | 75 nights | 9°F |
| Boone County, IA | 48 km southeast | 151 nights | 76 nights | 10°F |
| Wright County, IA | 49 km northeast | 161 nights | 89 nights | 6°F |
Webster County within IA
Webster County ranks 27 of 99 IA counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Osceola County, IA at 99 nights, with a 8°F average winter low. The fewest is Des Moines County, IA: 52 nights, winter lows near 19°F. At 1,119 ft, Webster County sits close to the state's median county elevation of 1,090 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 Fort Dodge (5 mi NNW), IA, 17 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.