Will Pipes Freeze in Custer County, NE? 90 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Custer County
In a normal year Custer County, NE gets 90 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 88% 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 | 173 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 90 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 39 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 15 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 90 nights of risk to 39 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 05/10. For 20°F: 10/27 to 04/09.
How cold Custer County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 14°F; the coldest month, January, averages 13°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: 39 nights a year, and 15 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13°F | 15°F | 24°F | 33°F | 45°F | 56°F | 61°F | 59°F | 49°F | 35°F | 22°F | 14°F |
Custer County next to its neighbours
Dawson County, NE, 59 km south, gets 75 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Custer County, NE | - | 173 nights | 90 nights | 13°F |
| Loup County, NE | 59 km north | 170 nights | 91 nights | 10°F |
| Dawson County, NE | 59 km south | 157 nights | 75 nights | 15°F |
| Logan County, NE | 62 km west | 172 nights | 89 nights | 13°F |
| Blaine County, NE | 64 km north | 169 nights | 88 nights | 13°F |
| Valley County, NE | 65 km east | 164 nights | 85 nights | 12°F |
| Sherman County, NE | 66 km east | 161 nights | 82 nights | 12°F |
Custer County within NE
Custer County ranks 6 of 93 NE counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Sioux County, NE at 114 nights, with a 11°F average winter low. The fewest is Fillmore County, NE: 55 nights, winter lows near 19°F. At 2,577 ft, Custer County sits 568 ft above the state's median county elevation of 2,010 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 Broken Bow (2 mi W), NE, 5 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.