Will Pipes Freeze in Benton County, IN? 57 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Benton County
In a normal year Benton County, IN gets 57 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 70% 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 | 136 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 57 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 26 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 9 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 57 nights of risk to 26 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 04/25. For 20°F: 11/16 to 03/27.
How cold Benton County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 19°F; the coldest month, January, averages 16°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: 26 nights a year, and 9 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16°F | 19°F | 28°F | 38°F | 50°F | 60°F | 62°F | 60°F | 52°F | 41°F | 31°F | 21°F |
Benton County next to its neighbours
Warren County, IN, 28 km south, gets 54 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benton County, IN | - | 136 nights | 57 nights | 16°F |
| Warren County, IN | 28 km south | 130 nights | 54 nights | 16°F |
| Newton County, IN | 41 km north | 131 nights | 53 nights | 16°F |
| White County, IN | 41 km northeast | 131 nights | 52 nights | 17°F |
| Tippecanoe County, IN | 43 km southeast | 118 nights | 45 nights | 18°F |
| Iroquois County, IL | 47 km west | 134 nights | 56 nights | 16°F |
| Jasper County, IN | 49 km north | 130 nights | 53 nights | 16°F |
Benton County within IN
Benton County ranks 3 of 92 IN counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Steuben County, IN at 63 nights, with a 19°F average winter low. The fewest is Floyd County, IN: 19 nights, winter lows near 29°F. At 824 ft, Benton County sits 65 ft above the state's median county elevation of 759 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.
The dates to be done by: when freeze season starts and ends.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Boswell (4 mi WNW), IN, 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.