Will Pipes Freeze in Brown County, NE? 78 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Brown County
In a normal year Brown County, NE gets 78 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 81% 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 | 158 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 78 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 34 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 13 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 78 nights of risk to 34 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 10/03, last around 05/06. For 20°F: 10/31 to 04/05.
How cold Brown County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 16°F; the coldest month, January, averages 14°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: 34 nights a year, and 13 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14°F | 17°F | 26°F | 35°F | 46°F | 57°F | 62°F | 60°F | 51°F | 37°F | 25°F | 17°F |
Brown County next to its neighbours
Rock County, NE, 42 km east, gets 81 nights below 20°F to Brown County's 78 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown County, NE | - | 158 nights | 78 nights | 14°F |
| Rock County, NE | 42 km east | 159 nights | 81 nights | 12°F |
| Blaine County, NE | 48 km south | 169 nights | 88 nights | 13°F |
| Keya Paha County, NE | 60 km north | 164 nights | 86 nights | 10°F |
| Loup County, NE | 61 km southeast | 170 nights | 91 nights | 10°F |
| Thomas County, NE | 75 km southwest | 173 nights | 91 nights | 12°F |
| Holt County, NE | 94 km east | 162 nights | 84 nights | 11°F |
Brown County within NE
Brown County ranks 49 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 2,712 ft, Brown County sits 702 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 Elsmere (9 mi ENE), NE, 22 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.