Will Pipes Freeze in Clay County, SD? 86 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Clay County
In a normal year Clay County, SD gets 86 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 85% 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 | 159 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 86 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 46 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 22 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 86 nights of risk to 46 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 10/01, last around 05/02. For 20°F: 10/30 to 04/06.
How cold Clay County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 11°F; the coldest month, January, averages 9°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, November, December: 46 nights a year, and 22 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9°F | 13°F | 24°F | 35°F | 47°F | 59°F | 63°F | 60°F | 51°F | 37°F | 24°F | 13°F |
Clay County next to its neighbours
Union County, SD, 28 km east, gets 87 nights below 20°F to Clay County's 86 nights. Yankton County, SD, 35 km west, gets 84 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clay County, SD | - | 159 nights | 86 nights | 9°F |
| Union County, SD | 28 km east | 161 nights | 87 nights | 8°F |
| Yankton County, SD | 35 km west | 156 nights | 84 nights | 10°F |
| Cedar County, NE | 41 km southwest | 154 nights | 80 nights | 10°F |
| Lincoln County, SD | 46 km northeast | 160 nights | 89 nights | 6°F |
| Turner County, SD | 46 km north | 160 nights | 88 nights | 8°F |
| Dixon County, NE | 49 km south | 162 nights | 87 nights | 10°F |
Clay County within SD
Clay County ranks 56 of 66 SD counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Codington County, SD at 113 nights, with a 6°F average winter low. The fewest is Tripp County, SD: 75 nights, winter lows near 15°F. At 1,225 ft, Clay County sits 560 ft below the state's median county elevation of 1,785 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 Centerville (6 mi SE), SD, 15 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.