Will Pipes Freeze in Box Butte County, NE? 79 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Box Butte County
In a normal year Box Butte County, NE gets 79 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 82% 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 | 168 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 79 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 33 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 13 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 79 nights of risk to 33 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 10/05, last around 05/08. For 20°F: 10/30 to 04/06.
How cold Box Butte County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 16°F; the coldest month, January, averages 15°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: 33 nights a year, and 13 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15°F | 17°F | 25°F | 32°F | 43°F | 53°F | 59°F | 57°F | 48°F | 34°F | 24°F | 15°F |
Box Butte County next to its neighbours
Morrill County, NE, 54 km south, gets 83 nights below 20°F to Box Butte County's 79 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Box Butte County, NE | - | 168 nights | 79 nights | 15°F |
| Morrill County, NE | 54 km south | 171 nights | 83 nights | 14°F |
| Dawes County, NE | 56 km north | 176 nights | 90 nights | 13°F |
| Sioux County, NE | 61 km northwest | 202 nights | 114 nights | 11°F |
| Scotts Bluff County, NE | 65 km southwest | 172 nights | 83 nights | 15°F |
| Sheridan County, NE | 68 km northeast | 186 nights | 96 nights | 11°F |
| Garden County, NE | 91 km southeast | 171 nights | 84 nights | 13°F |
Box Butte County within NE
Box Butte County ranks 42 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 4,219 ft, Box Butte County sits 2,210 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.
At this many nights, foam alone is not the answer: insulate or heat tape?.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Hemingford, NE, 12 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.