Will Pipes Freeze in Cayuga County, NY? 62 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Cayuga County
In a normal year Cayuga County, NY gets 62 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 72% 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 | 141 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 62 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 27 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 8 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 62 nights of risk to 27 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 10/18, last around 05/02. For 20°F: 11/22 to 04/01.
How cold Cayuga County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 18°F; the coldest month, January, averages 16°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: 27 nights a year, and 8 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16°F | 16°F | 23°F | 34°F | 45°F | 56°F | 61°F | 59°F | 52°F | 41°F | 32°F | 23°F |
Cayuga County next to its neighbours
Oswego County, NY, 58 km northeast, gets 63 nights below 20°F to Cayuga County's 62 nights. Onondaga County, NY, 31 km east, gets 61 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cayuga County, NY | - | 141 nights | 62 nights | 16°F |
| Onondaga County, NY | 31 km east | 140 nights | 61 nights | 15°F |
| Seneca County, NY | 32 km southwest | 133 nights | 58 nights | 16°F |
| Wayne County, NY | 45 km northwest | 133 nights | 54 nights | 16°F |
| Oswego County, NY | 58 km northeast | 147 nights | 63 nights | 13°F |
| Yates County, NY | 60 km southwest | 133 nights | 56 nights | 17°F |
| Cortland County, NY | 61 km southeast | 158 nights | 74 nights | 12°F |
Cayuga County within NY
Cayuga County ranks 39 of 62 NY counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Franklin County, NY at 107 nights, with a 7°F average winter low. The fewest is Bronx County, NY: 16 nights, winter lows near 30°F. At 650 ft, Cayuga County sits 238 ft below the state's median county elevation of 888 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 Auburn, NY, 9 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.