Will Pipes Freeze in Brown County, OH? 42 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Brown County
In a normal year Brown County, OH gets 42 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 57% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs November to March, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 118 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 42 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 13 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 3 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 42 nights of risk to 13 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 10/11, last around 04/29. For 20°F: 11/14 to 03/31.
How cold Brown County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 21°F; the coldest month, January, averages 19°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, December: 13 nights a year, and 3 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19°F | 21°F | 29°F | 38°F | 50°F | 58°F | 62°F | 59°F | 52°F | 41°F | 31°F | 23°F |
Brown County next to its neighbours
Clermont County, OH, 28 km northwest, gets 33 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brown County, OH | - | 118 nights | 42 nights | 19°F |
| Clermont County, OH | 28 km northwest | 109 nights | 33 nights | 23°F |
| Bracken County, KY | 35 km southwest | 102 nights | 29 nights | 22°F |
| Adams County, OH | 35 km east | 117 nights | 39 nights | 20°F |
| Highland County, OH | 36 km northeast | 114 nights | 39 nights | 20°F |
| Mason County, KY | 38 km south | 110 nights | 37 nights | 21°F |
| Campbell County, KY | 44 km west | 106 nights | 32 nights | 23°F |
Brown County within OH
Brown County ranks 57 of 88 OH counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Williams County, OH at 61 nights, with a 19°F average winter low. The fewest is Scioto County, OH: 28 nights, winter lows near 24°F. At 955 ft, Brown County sits close to the state's median county elevation of 916 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 Ripley Experiment Farm, OH, 17 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.