Will Pipes Freeze in Burt County, NE? 74 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Burt County
In a normal year Burt County, NE gets 74 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 79% 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 | 149 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 74 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 36 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 15 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 74 nights of risk to 36 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 10/10, last around 04/28. For 20°F: 11/07 to 03/31.
How cold Burt County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 14°F; the coldest month, January, averages 11°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: 36 nights a year, and 15 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11°F | 15°F | 26°F | 36°F | 49°F | 60°F | 64°F | 61°F | 51°F | 39°F | 26°F | 16°F |
Burt County next to its neighbours
Thurston County, NE, 37 km northwest, gets 80 nights below 20°F to Burt County's 74 nights. Washington County, NE, 37 km south, gets 68 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burt County, NE | - | 149 nights | 74 nights | 11°F |
| Washington County, NE | 37 km south | 140 nights | 68 nights | 13°F |
| Thurston County, NE | 37 km northwest | 153 nights | 80 nights | 11°F |
| Cuming County, NE | 38 km west | 153 nights | 78 nights | 11°F |
| Monona County, IA | 38 km northeast | 149 nights | 76 nights | 9°F |
| Dodge County, NE | 40 km southwest | 143 nights | 70 nights | 13°F |
| Harrison County, IA | 46 km southeast | 154 nights | 81 nights | 10°F |
Burt County within NE
Burt County ranks 55 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 1,391 ft, Burt County sits 618 ft below 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.
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 Tekamah, 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.