Will Pipes Freeze in Barbour County, WV? 53 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Barbour County
In a normal year Barbour County, WV gets 53 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 67% 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 | 141 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 53 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 53 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 10/13, last around 05/06. For 20°F: 11/13 to 03/28.
How cold Barbour County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 22°F; the coldest month, January, averages 20°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: 18 nights a year, and 5 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20°F | 21°F | 28°F | 37°F | 47°F | 56°F | 60°F | 59°F | 52°F | 40°F | 31°F | 25°F |
Barbour County next to its neighbours
Tucker County, WV, 38 km east, gets 70 nights below 20°F to Barbour County's 53 nights. Taylor County, WV, 22 km north, gets 40 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbour County, WV | - | 141 nights | 53 nights | 20°F |
| Taylor County, WV | 22 km north | 123 nights | 40 nights | 22°F |
| Upshur County, WV | 33 km southwest | 124 nights | 43 nights | 22°F |
| Harrison County, WV | 37 km northwest | 115 nights | 35 nights | 23°F |
| Tucker County, WV | 38 km east | 149 nights | 70 nights | 17°F |
| Randolph County, WV | 41 km south | 153 nights | 67 nights | 18°F |
| Marion County, WV | 46 km northwest | 122 nights | 41 nights | 22°F |
Barbour County within WV
Barbour County ranks 5 of 55 WV counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Tucker County, WV at 70 nights, with a 20°F average winter low. The fewest is Mingo County, WV: 25 nights, winter lows near 28°F. At 1,862 ft, Barbour County sits 649 ft above the state's median county elevation of 1,213 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 Belington, WV, 14 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.