Will Pipes Freeze in Adams County, NE? 62 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Adams County
In a normal year Adams County, NE gets 62 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 73% 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 | 141 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 62 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 26 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 8 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 62 nights of risk to 26 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 10/16, last around 04/22. For 20°F: 11/11 to 03/24.
How cold Adams County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 18°F; the coldest month, January, averages 16°F overnight. 8 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, November, December: 26 nights a year, and 8 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16°F | 19°F | 29°F | 39°F | 50°F | 61°F | 66°F | 63°F | 54°F | 41°F | 28°F | 19°F |
Adams County next to its neighbours
Webster County, NE, 38 km south, gets 83 nights below 20°F to Adams County's 62 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams County, NE | - | 141 nights | 62 nights | 16°F |
| Webster County, NE | 38 km south | 159 nights | 83 nights | 13°F |
| Kearney County, NE | 38 km west | 149 nights | 70 nights | 15°F |
| Clay County, NE | 38 km east | 145 nights | 65 nights | 16°F |
| Hall County, NE | 38 km north | 144 nights | 64 nights | 16°F |
| Nuckolls County, NE | 54 km southeast | 143 nights | 63 nights | 15°F |
| Franklin County, NE | 54 km southwest | 152 nights | 73 nights | 14°F |
Adams County within NE
Adams County ranks 87 of 93 NE counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Sioux County, NE at 114 nights, with a 11°F average winter low. The fewest is Fillmore County, NE: 55 nights, winter lows near 19°F. At 1,926 ft, Adams County sits 84 ft below the state's median county elevation of 2,010 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 Hastings Municipal Airport, NE, 11 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.