Will Pipes Freeze in Beadle County, SD? 96 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Beadle County
In a normal year Beadle County, SD gets 96 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 90% 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 | 167 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 96 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 54 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 28 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 96 nights of risk to 54 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 10/02, last around 05/06. For 20°F: 10/28 to 04/07.
How cold Beadle County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 9°F; the coldest month, January, averages 6°F overnight. 9 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, November, December: 54 nights a year, and 28 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6°F | 10°F | 22°F | 34°F | 46°F | 57°F | 62°F | 59°F | 50°F | 36°F | 22°F | 11°F |
Beadle County next to its neighbours
Spink County, SD, 56 km north, gets 109 nights below 20°F to Beadle County's 96 nights. Sanborn County, SD, 47 km south, gets 95 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beadle County, SD | - | 167 nights | 96 nights | 6°F |
| Sanborn County, SD | 47 km south | 167 nights | 95 nights | 5°F |
| Jerauld County, SD | 48 km southwest | 157 nights | 89 nights | 7°F |
| Spink County, SD | 56 km north | 180 nights | 109 nights | 3°F |
| Hand County, SD | 59 km west | 172 nights | 98 nights | 7°F |
| Kingsbury County, SD | 62 km east | 165 nights | 97 nights | 5°F |
| Clark County, SD | 65 km northeast | 175 nights | 107 nights | 3°F |
Beadle County within SD
Beadle County ranks 33 of 66 SD counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Codington County, SD at 113 nights, with a 6°F average winter low. The fewest is Tripp County, SD: 75 nights, winter lows near 15°F. At 1,294 ft, Beadle County sits 491 ft below the state's median county elevation of 1,785 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 Huron Regional Airport, SD, 5 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.