Will Pipes Freeze in Cheyenne County, KS? 75 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Cheyenne County
In a normal year Cheyenne County, KS gets 75 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 80% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs October to April, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 162 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 75 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 25 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 7 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 75 nights of risk to 25 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 10/10, last around 04/30. For 20°F: 11/04 to 03/27.
How cold Cheyenne County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 17°F; the coldest month, January, averages 15°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: 25 nights a year, and 7 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15°F | 18°F | 26°F | 35°F | 46°F | 57°F | 63°F | 60°F | 50°F | 36°F | 25°F | 16°F |
Cheyenne County next to its neighbours
Dundy County, NE, 44 km north, gets 79 nights below 20°F to Cheyenne County's 75 nights. Sherman County, KS, 49 km south, gets 69 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheyenne County, KS | - | 162 nights | 75 nights | 15°F |
| Dundy County, NE | 44 km north | 164 nights | 79 nights | 15°F |
| Sherman County, KS | 49 km south | 157 nights | 69 nights | 17°F |
| Rawlins County, KS | 56 km east | 167 nights | 83 nights | 15°F |
| Yuma County, CO | 64 km west | 162 nights | 72 nights | 16°F |
| Hitchcock County, NE | 72 km northeast | 158 nights | 72 nights | 15°F |
| Thomas County, KS | 73 km southeast | 164 nights | 77 nights | 15°F |
Cheyenne County within KS
Cheyenne County ranks 5 of 105 KS counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Rawlins County, KS at 83 nights, with a 16°F average winter low. The fewest is Cherokee County, KS: 27 nights, winter lows near 26°F. At 3,457 ft, Cheyenne County sits 1,931 ft above the state's median county elevation of 1,526 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.
The dates to be done by: when freeze season starts and ends.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Saint Francis, KS, 7 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.