Will Pipes Freeze in Wood County, WI? 91 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Wood County
In a normal year Wood County, WI gets 91 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 88% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs November to April, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 165 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 91 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 50 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 25 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 91 nights of risk to 50 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 10/01, last around 05/08. For 20°F: 11/06 to 04/05.
How cold Wood County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 10°F; the coldest month, January, averages 6°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: 50 nights a year, and 25 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6°F | 9°F | 20°F | 32°F | 44°F | 55°F | 59°F | 57°F | 48°F | 36°F | 24°F | 13°F |
Wood County next to its neighbours
Marathon County, WI, 53 km northeast, gets 93 nights below 20°F to Wood County's 91 nights. Juneau County, WI, 59 km south, gets 86 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wood County, WI | - | 165 nights | 91 nights | 6°F |
| Portage County, WI | 43 km east | 164 nights | 90 nights | 7°F |
| Marathon County, WI | 53 km northeast | 166 nights | 93 nights | 6°F |
| Clark County, WI | 55 km northwest | 175 nights | 100 nights | 4°F |
| Adams County, WI | 58 km south | 169 nights | 94 nights | 6°F |
| Juneau County, WI | 59 km south | 160 nights | 86 nights | 7°F |
| Jackson County, WI | 62 km west | 176 nights | 98 nights | 5°F |
Wood County within WI
Wood County ranks 32 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 1,061 ft, Wood County sits 66 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 Wisconsin Rapids Alexander Field, WI, 20 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.