Will Pipes Freeze in Yellow Medicine County, MN? 100 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Yellow Medicine County
In a normal year Yellow Medicine County, MN gets 100 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 92% 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 | 167 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 100 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 63 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 37 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 100 nights of risk to 63 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 05/04. For 20°F: 10/31 to 04/08.
How cold Yellow Medicine County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 6°F; the coldest month, January, averages 3°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: 63 nights a year, and 37 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3°F | 6°F | 19°F | 32°F | 46°F | 56°F | 60°F | 58°F | 49°F | 35°F | 22°F | 10°F |
Yellow Medicine County next to its neighbours
Chippewa County, MN, 42 km northeast, gets 103 nights below 20°F to Yellow Medicine County's 100 nights. Lyon County, MN, 34 km south, gets 93 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yellow Medicine County, MN | - | 167 nights | 100 nights | 3°F |
| Lyon County, MN | 34 km south | 158 nights | 93 nights | 4°F |
| Lac qui Parle County, MN | 40 km northwest | 168 nights | 100 nights | 3°F |
| Chippewa County, MN | 42 km northeast | 170 nights | 103 nights | 3°F |
| Lincoln County, MN | 47 km southwest | 172 nights | 105 nights | 4°F |
| Redwood County, MN | 59 km southeast | 163 nights | 94 nights | 5°F |
| Swift County, MN | 64 km north | 168 nights | 102 nights | 1°F |
Yellow Medicine County within MN
Yellow Medicine County ranks 47 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 1,059 ft, Yellow Medicine County sits 55 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.
At this many nights, foam alone is not the answer: insulate or heat tape?.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Montevideo (1 mi SW), MN, 26 km away (fair 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.