Will Pipes Freeze in Butler County, NE? 73 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Butler County
In a normal year Butler County, NE gets 73 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 November to April, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 147 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 73 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 35 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 13 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 73 nights of risk to 35 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 04/26. For 20°F: 11/07 to 03/31.
How cold Butler County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 14°F; the coldest month, January, averages 12°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: 35 nights a year, and 13 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12°F | 15°F | 26°F | 36°F | 49°F | 60°F | 64°F | 62°F | 53°F | 40°F | 26°F | 16°F |
Butler County next to its neighbours
Colfax County, NE, 39 km north, gets 77 nights below 20°F to Butler County's 73 nights. Polk County, NE, 37 km west, gets 69 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butler County, NE | - | 147 nights | 73 nights | 12°F |
| Polk County, NE | 37 km west | 144 nights | 69 nights | 13°F |
| Colfax County, NE | 39 km north | 152 nights | 77 nights | 13°F |
| Seward County, NE | 39 km south | 143 nights | 68 nights | 12°F |
| Saunders County, NE | 41 km east | 151 nights | 72 nights | 12°F |
| Platte County, NE | 50 km northwest | 150 nights | 73 nights | 13°F |
| York County, NE | 55 km southwest | 141 nights | 64 nights | 14°F |
Butler County within NE
Butler County ranks 56 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 1,607 ft, Butler County sits 402 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.
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 David City, NE, 3 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. Why elevation is part of the blend: how county numbers are made.