Will Pipes Freeze in Elliott County, KY? 41 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Elliott County
In a normal year Elliott County, KY gets 41 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 56% 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 | 118 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 41 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 12 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 3 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 41 nights of risk to 12 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 10/31, last around 04/10. For 20°F: 12/02 to 03/09.
How cold Elliott County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 24°F; the coldest month, January, averages 22°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: 12 nights a year, and 3 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22°F | 24°F | 31°F | 41°F | 51°F | 60°F | 64°F | 62°F | 55°F | 42°F | 33°F | 27°F |
Elliott County next to its neighbours
Carter County, KY, 22 km north, gets 47 nights below 20°F to Elliott County's 41 nights. Rowan County, KY, 31 km west, gets 33 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elliott County, KY | - | 118 nights | 41 nights | 22°F |
| Carter County, KY | 22 km north | 134 nights | 47 nights | 21°F |
| Morgan County, KY | 26 km southwest | 140 nights | 49 nights | 22°F |
| Rowan County, KY | 31 km west | 105 nights | 33 nights | 24°F |
| Lawrence County, KY | 32 km east | 123 nights | 37 nights | 23°F |
| Johnson County, KY | 38 km southeast | 115 nights | 31 nights | 23°F |
| Boyd County, KY | 45 km northeast | 103 nights | 29 nights | 25°F |
Elliott County within KY
Elliott County ranks 4 of 120 KY counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Shelby County, KY at 55 nights, with a 22°F average winter low. The fewest is Lyon County, KY: 15 nights, winter lows near 32°F. At 842 ft, Elliott County sits close to the state's median county elevation of 797 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.
The dates to be done by: when freeze season starts and ends.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Gimlet (9 mi N), KY, 12 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.