Will Pipes Freeze in Cass County, NE? 66 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Cass County
In a normal year Cass County, NE gets 66 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 75% 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 | 66 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 30 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 11 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 66 nights of risk to 30 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 10/16, last around 04/23. For 20°F: 11/10 to 03/23.
How cold Cass County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 16°F; the coldest month, January, averages 14°F overnight. 7 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, November, December: 30 nights a year, and 11 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14°F | 18°F | 29°F | 39°F | 51°F | 62°F | 66°F | 64°F | 54°F | 42°F | 28°F | 18°F |
Cass County next to its neighbours
Otoe County, NE, 30 km south, gets 72 nights below 20°F to Cass County's 66 nights. Douglas County, NE, 43 km north, gets 62 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cass County, NE | - | 139 nights | 66 nights | 14°F |
| Sarpy County, NE | 23 km north | 136 nights | 66 nights | 14°F |
| Otoe County, NE | 30 km south | 146 nights | 72 nights | 13°F |
| Douglas County, NE | 43 km north | 134 nights | 62 nights | 15°F |
| Mills County, IA | 46 km east | 144 nights | 69 nights | 12°F |
| Lancaster County, NE | 48 km west | 144 nights | 70 nights | 14°F |
| Fremont County, IA | 49 km east | 135 nights | 62 nights | 13°F |
Cass County within NE
Cass County ranks 78 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 1,278 ft, Cass County sits 732 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 Weeping Water, NE, 5 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.