Will Pipes Freeze in Barton County, KS? 45 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Barton County
In a normal year Barton County, KS gets 45 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 60% 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 | 121 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 45 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 13 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 2 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 45 nights of risk to 13 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 10/15, last around 04/24. For 20°F: 11/10 to 03/25.
How cold Barton County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 20°F; the coldest month, January, averages 18°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: 13 nights a year, and 2 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18°F | 21°F | 30°F | 40°F | 51°F | 61°F | 66°F | 64°F | 55°F | 42°F | 30°F | 21°F |
Barton County next to its neighbours
Rush County, KS, 47 km west, gets 64 nights below 20°F to Barton County's 45 nights. Stafford County, KS, 50 km south, gets 40 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barton County, KS | - | 121 nights | 45 nights | 18°F |
| Rush County, KS | 47 km west | 144 nights | 64 nights | 16°F |
| Russell County, KS | 48 km north | 133 nights | 55 nights | 18°F |
| Stafford County, KS | 50 km south | 113 nights | 40 nights | 20°F |
| Rice County, KS | 52 km east | 122 nights | 44 nights | 20°F |
| Pawnee County, KS | 53 km southwest | 124 nights | 47 nights | 20°F |
| Ellsworth County, KS | 55 km northeast | 137 nights | 59 nights | 18°F |
Barton County within KS
Barton County ranks 68 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 1,806 ft, Barton County sits 281 ft above 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.
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 Great Bend (3 mi W), KS, 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.