Will Pipes Freeze in Dearborn County, IN? 43 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Dearborn County
In a normal year Dearborn County, IN gets 43 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 59% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs November to March, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 123 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 43 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 14 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 5 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 43 nights of risk to 14 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 10/16, last around 04/30. For 20°F: 11/20 to 03/24.
How cold Dearborn County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 22°F; the coldest month, January, averages 20°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, December: 14 nights a year, and 5 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20°F | 22°F | 30°F | 40°F | 50°F | 59°F | 62°F | 61°F | 54°F | 42°F | 33°F | 25°F |
Dearborn County next to its neighbours
Ohio County, IN, 22 km south, gets 37 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dearborn County, IN | - | 123 nights | 43 nights | 20°F |
| Ohio County, IN | 22 km south | 111 nights | 37 nights | 21°F |
| Ripley County, IN | 25 km west | 120 nights | 43 nights | 21°F |
| Boone County, KY | 29 km southeast | 101 nights | 30 nights | 23°F |
| Franklin County, IN | 31 km north | 120 nights | 41 nights | 20°F |
| Switzerland County, IN | 35 km south | 106 nights | 34 nights | 23°F |
| Hamilton County, OH | 38 km east | 104 nights | 33 nights | 22°F |
Dearborn County within IN
Dearborn County ranks 51 of 92 IN counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Steuben County, IN at 63 nights, with a 19°F average winter low. The fewest is Floyd County, IN: 19 nights, winter lows near 29°F. At 884 ft, Dearborn County sits 125 ft above the state's median county elevation of 759 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 Milan (5 mi NE), IN, 7 km away (close 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.