Will Pipes Freeze in Cortland County, NY? 74 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Cortland County
In a normal year Cortland County, NY gets 74 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 79% 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 | 158 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 74 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 36 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 15 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 74 nights of risk to 36 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 10/04, last around 05/13. For 20°F: 11/14 to 04/04.
How cold Cortland County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 15°F; the coldest month, January, averages 12°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: 36 nights a year, and 15 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12°F | 13°F | 21°F | 32°F | 43°F | 52°F | 57°F | 55°F | 48°F | 38°F | 29°F | 20°F |
Cortland County next to its neighbours
Chenango County, NY, 41 km east, gets 75 nights below 20°F to Cortland County's 74 nights. Tompkins County, NY, 36 km southwest, gets 66 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cortland County, NY | - | 158 nights | 74 nights | 12°F |
| Tompkins County, NY | 36 km southwest | 149 nights | 66 nights | 14°F |
| Chenango County, NY | 41 km east | 160 nights | 75 nights | 12°F |
| Onondaga County, NY | 47 km north | 140 nights | 61 nights | 15°F |
| Madison County, NY | 49 km northeast | 156 nights | 77 nights | 12°F |
| Tioga County, NY | 50 km south | 163 nights | 71 nights | 14°F |
| Broome County, NY | 52 km southeast | 150 nights | 66 nights | 15°F |
Cortland County within NY
Cortland County ranks 22 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 1,444 ft, Cortland County sits 556 ft above 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 Ithaca (13 mi E), NY, 22 km away (fair 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.