Will Pipes Freeze in Dawes County, NE? 90 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Dawes County
In a normal year Dawes 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 87% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs October to April, worst in December.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 176 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 90 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 41 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 17 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 90 nights of risk to 41 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 09/28, last around 05/15. For 20°F: 10/25 to 04/12.
How cold Dawes County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 13°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, April, October, November, December: 41 nights a year, and 17 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13°F | 15°F | 23°F | 31°F | 42°F | 51°F | 59°F | 56°F | 46°F | 33°F | 21°F | 13°F |
Dawes County next to its neighbours
Sioux County, NE, 56 km southwest, gets 114 nights below 20°F to Dawes County's 90 nights. Box Butte County, NE, 56 km south, gets 79 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dawes County, NE | - | 176 nights | 90 nights | 13°F |
| Sioux County, NE | 56 km southwest | 202 nights | 114 nights | 11°F |
| Box Butte County, NE | 56 km south | 168 nights | 79 nights | 15°F |
| Fall River County, SD | 64 km northwest | 182 nights | 96 nights | 12°F |
| Sheridan County, NE | 67 km east | 186 nights | 96 nights | 11°F |
| Oglala Lakota County, SD | 83 km northeast | 171 nights | 88 nights | 13°F |
| Scotts Bluff County, NE | 107 km southwest | 172 nights | 83 nights | 15°F |
Dawes County within NE
Dawes County ranks 7 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 3,706 ft, Dawes County sits 1,697 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 Chadron (3 mi SW), NE, 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.