Will Pipes Freeze in Athens County, OH? 43 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Athens County
In a normal year Athens County, OH gets 43 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 58% 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 | 124 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 43 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 11 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 3 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 43 nights of risk to 11 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 10/23, last around 04/25. For 20°F: 11/21 to 03/19.
How cold Athens County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 24°F; the coldest month, January, averages 21°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, December: 11 nights a year, and 3 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21°F | 23°F | 30°F | 40°F | 50°F | 59°F | 63°F | 61°F | 54°F | 42°F | 32°F | 27°F |
Athens County next to its neighbours
Morgan County, OH, 36 km northeast, gets 44 nights below 20°F to Athens County's 43 nights. Wood County, WV, 48 km east, gets 31 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athens County, OH | - | 124 nights | 43 nights | 21°F |
| Meigs County, OH | 27 km south | 121 nights | 43 nights | 22°F |
| Morgan County, OH | 36 km northeast | 127 nights | 44 nights | 20°F |
| Vinton County, OH | 39 km west | 125 nights | 44 nights | 21°F |
| Hocking County, OH | 41 km northwest | 130 nights | 46 nights | 19°F |
| Wood County, WV | 48 km east | 106 nights | 31 nights | 24°F |
| Perry County, OH | 49 km north | 138 nights | 52 nights | 18°F |
Athens County within OH
Athens County ranks 55 of 88 OH counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Williams County, OH at 61 nights, with a 19°F average winter low. The fewest is Scioto County, OH: 28 nights, winter lows near 24°F. At 639 ft, Athens County sits 277 ft below the state's median county elevation of 916 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 Athens Ou, OH, 5 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.