Will Pipes Freeze in Blaine County, NE? 88 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Blaine County
In a normal year Blaine County, NE gets 88 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 86% 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 | 169 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 88 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 39 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 15 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 88 nights of risk to 39 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 05/09. For 20°F: 10/27 to 04/10.
How cold Blaine County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 14°F; the coldest month, January, averages 13°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: 39 nights a year, and 15 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13°F | 15°F | 24°F | 34°F | 45°F | 55°F | 61°F | 59°F | 49°F | 35°F | 23°F | 15°F |
Blaine County next to its neighbours
Loup County, NE, 40 km east, gets 91 nights below 20°F to Blaine County's 88 nights. Brown County, NE, 48 km north, gets 78 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blaine County, NE | - | 169 nights | 88 nights | 13°F |
| Loup County, NE | 40 km east | 170 nights | 91 nights | 10°F |
| Thomas County, NE | 45 km west | 173 nights | 91 nights | 12°F |
| Brown County, NE | 48 km north | 158 nights | 78 nights | 14°F |
| Logan County, NE | 57 km southwest | 172 nights | 89 nights | 13°F |
| Custer County, NE | 64 km south | 173 nights | 90 nights | 13°F |
| Rock County, NE | 70 km northeast | 159 nights | 81 nights | 12°F |
Blaine County within NE
Blaine County ranks 12 of 93 NE counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Sioux County, NE at 114 nights, with a 11°F average winter low. The fewest is Fillmore County, NE: 55 nights, winter lows near 19°F. At 2,618 ft, Blaine County sits 609 ft above the state's median county elevation of 2,010 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 Purdum, NE, 26 km away (fair 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.