Will Pipes Freeze in Centre County, PA? 55 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Centre County
In a normal year Centre County, PA gets 55 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 68% 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 | 136 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 55 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 18 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 5 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 55 nights of risk to 18 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 10/26, last around 04/20. For 20°F: 12/01 to 03/19.
How cold Centre County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 21°F; the coldest month, January, averages 19°F overnight. 9 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, December: 18 nights a year, and 5 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19°F | 19°F | 27°F | 37°F | 48°F | 57°F | 61°F | 59°F | 52°F | 41°F | 31°F | 24°F |
Centre County next to its neighbours
Clinton County, PA, 41 km northeast, gets 60 nights below 20°F to Centre County's 55 nights. Mifflin County, PA, 38 km southeast, gets 45 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centre County, PA | - | 136 nights | 55 nights | 19°F |
| Mifflin County, PA | 38 km southeast | 127 nights | 45 nights | 20°F |
| Clinton County, PA | 41 km northeast | 152 nights | 60 nights | 17°F |
| Clearfield County, PA | 54 km west | 146 nights | 59 nights | 17°F |
| Huntingdon County, PA | 55 km south | 121 nights | 40 nights | 21°F |
| Juniata County, PA | 57 km southeast | 120 nights | 38 nights | 21°F |
| Blair County, PA | 60 km southwest | 126 nights | 46 nights | 20°F |
Centre County within PA
Centre County ranks 25 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 1,165 ft, Centre 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 State College, PA, 13 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.