Will Pipes Freeze in Butler County, PA? 54 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Butler County
In a normal year Butler County, PA gets 54 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 67% 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 | 139 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 54 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 20 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 5 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 54 nights of risk to 20 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 10/14, last around 05/07. For 20°F: 11/20 to 03/30.
How cold Butler County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 20°F; the coldest month, January, averages 17°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: 20 nights a year, and 5 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17°F | 18°F | 25°F | 35°F | 45°F | 54°F | 58°F | 57°F | 50°F | 39°F | 30°F | 23°F |
Butler County next to its neighbours
Mercer County, PA, 51 km northwest, gets 67 nights below 20°F to Butler County's 54 nights. Lawrence County, PA, 36 km west, gets 51 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butler County, PA | - | 139 nights | 54 nights | 17°F |
| Lawrence County, PA | 36 km west | 134 nights | 51 nights | 19°F |
| Armstrong County, PA | 40 km east | 140 nights | 54 nights | 18°F |
| Beaver County, PA | 44 km southwest | 121 nights | 39 nights | 20°F |
| Allegheny County, PA | 50 km south | 105 nights | 34 nights | 21°F |
| Mercer County, PA | 51 km northwest | 156 nights | 67 nights | 16°F |
| Clarion County, PA | 52 km northeast | 157 nights | 64 nights | 15°F |
Butler County within PA
Butler County ranks 29 of 67 PA counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Susquehanna County, PA at 80 nights, with a 15°F average winter low. The fewest is Delaware County, PA: 15 nights, winter lows near 28°F. At 1,160 ft, Butler County sits close to the state's median county elevation of 1,141 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.
Interior pipes have a threshold too: the four freeze points.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Butler (2 mi SW), PA, 8 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. What a "fair" or "distant" station match means is in the method guide.