Will Pipes Freeze in Dixon County, NE? 87 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Dixon County
In a normal year Dixon County, NE gets 87 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 86% 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 | 162 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 87 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 48 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 21 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 87 nights of risk to 48 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 05/02. For 20°F: 11/01 to 04/05.
How cold Dixon County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 12°F; the coldest month, January, averages 10°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: 48 nights a year, and 21 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10°F | 13°F | 24°F | 34°F | 47°F | 58°F | 62°F | 60°F | 50°F | 37°F | 24°F | 14°F |
Dixon County next to its neighbours
Dakota County, NE, 26 km southeast, gets 82 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dixon County, NE | - | 162 nights | 87 nights | 10°F |
| Dakota County, NE | 26 km southeast | 157 nights | 82 nights | 10°F |
| Cedar County, NE | 35 km west | 154 nights | 80 nights | 10°F |
| Wayne County, NE | 38 km southwest | 159 nights | 84 nights | 11°F |
| Union County, SD | 42 km northeast | 161 nights | 87 nights | 8°F |
| Thurston County, NE | 45 km southeast | 153 nights | 80 nights | 11°F |
| Clay County, SD | 49 km north | 159 nights | 86 nights | 9°F |
Dixon County within NE
Dixon County ranks 13 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 1,408 ft, Dixon County sits 602 ft below 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 Concord, NE, 16 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.