Will Pipes Freeze in Douglas County, KS? 43 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Douglas County
In a normal year Douglas County, KS 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 58% 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 | 111 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 43 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 15 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 4 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 43 nights of risk to 15 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 10/22, last around 04/15. For 20°F: 11/20 to 03/16.
How cold Douglas County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 22°F; the coldest month, January, averages 19°F overnight. 7 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, December: 15 nights a year, and 4 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19°F | 23°F | 33°F | 43°F | 55°F | 64°F | 69°F | 67°F | 58°F | 45°F | 33°F | 24°F |
Douglas County next to its neighbours
Jefferson County, KS, 39 km north, gets 47 nights below 20°F to Douglas County's 43 nights. Franklin County, KS, 38 km south, gets 39 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas County, KS | - | 111 nights | 43 nights | 19°F |
| Franklin County, KS | 38 km south | 111 nights | 39 nights | 18°F |
| Jefferson County, KS | 39 km north | 115 nights | 47 nights | 18°F |
| Leavenworth County, KS | 39 km northeast | 126 nights | 53 nights | 17°F |
| Johnson County, KS | 41 km east | 101 nights | 37 nights | 20°F |
| Shawnee County, KS | 43 km west | 115 nights | 42 nights | 19°F |
| Osage County, KS | 45 km southwest | 118 nights | 46 nights | 19°F |
Douglas County within KS
Douglas County ranks 75 of 105 KS counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Rawlins County, KS at 83 nights, with a 16°F average winter low. The fewest is Cherokee County, KS: 27 nights, winter lows near 26°F. At 1,034 ft, Douglas County sits 491 ft below the state's median county elevation of 1,526 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 Clinton Lake, KS, 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.