Will Pipes Freeze in Atchison County, KS? 47 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Atchison County
In a normal year Atchison County, KS gets 47 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 62% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs November to March, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 116 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 47 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 18 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 5 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 47 nights of risk to 18 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 10/29, last around 04/11. For 20°F: 11/24 to 03/12.
How cold Atchison County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 20°F; the coldest month, January, averages 17°F overnight. 7 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, December: 18 nights a year, and 5 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17°F | 21°F | 31°F | 42°F | 54°F | 64°F | 68°F | 66°F | 57°F | 45°F | 32°F | 22°F |
Atchison County next to its neighbours
Doniphan County, KS, 32 km northeast, gets 52 nights below 20°F to Atchison County's 47 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atchison County, KS | - | 116 nights | 47 nights | 17°F |
| Doniphan County, KS | 32 km northeast | 121 nights | 52 nights | 17°F |
| Jefferson County, KS | 33 km south | 115 nights | 47 nights | 18°F |
| Brown County, KS | 39 km northwest | 132 nights | 62 nights | 15°F |
| Jackson County, KS | 43 km west | 130 nights | 56 nights | 15°F |
| Leavenworth County, KS | 45 km southeast | 126 nights | 53 nights | 17°F |
| Buchanan County, MO | 46 km east | 122 nights | 51 nights | 17°F |
Atchison County within KS
Atchison County ranks 59 of 105 KS counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Rawlins County, KS at 83 nights, with a 16°F average winter low. The fewest is Cherokee County, KS: 27 nights, winter lows near 26°F. At 1,056 ft, Atchison County sits 470 ft below the state's median county elevation of 1,526 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 Atchison, KS, 18 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. Why elevation is part of the blend: how county numbers are made.