Will Pipes Freeze in Edwards County, KS? 52 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Edwards County
In a normal year Edwards County, KS gets 52 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 66% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs November to April, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 131 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 52 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 14 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 2 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 52 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 10/20, last around 04/20. For 20°F: 11/15 to 03/20.
How cold Edwards County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 20°F; the coldest month, January, averages 18°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, November, December: 14 nights a year, and 2 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18°F | 22°F | 30°F | 39°F | 50°F | 61°F | 66°F | 64°F | 56°F | 42°F | 29°F | 20°F |
Edwards County next to its neighbours
Hodgeman County, KS, 57 km northwest, gets 59 nights below 20°F to Edwards County's 52 nights. Pawnee County, KS, 34 km north, gets 47 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edwards County, KS | - | 131 nights | 52 nights | 18°F |
| Pawnee County, KS | 34 km north | 124 nights | 47 nights | 20°F |
| Kiowa County, KS | 36 km south | 129 nights | 49 nights | 19°F |
| Stafford County, KS | 54 km east | 113 nights | 40 nights | 20°F |
| Ford County, KS | 55 km southwest | 130 nights | 48 nights | 20°F |
| Pratt County, KS | 56 km southeast | 122 nights | 43 nights | 19°F |
| Hodgeman County, KS | 57 km northwest | 143 nights | 59 nights | 18°F |
Edwards County within KS
Edwards County ranks 45 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 2,176 ft, Edwards County sits 650 ft above 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.
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 Kinsley (2 mi E), KS, 7 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.