Will Pipes Freeze in Erie County, OH? 41 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Erie County
In a normal year Erie County, OH 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 57% 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 | 113 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 41 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 14 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 4 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 41 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 11/05, last around 04/10. For 20°F: 12/07 to 03/11.
How cold Erie County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 23°F; the coldest month, January, averages 21°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: 14 nights a year, and 4 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21°F | 22°F | 30°F | 40°F | 52°F | 62°F | 66°F | 64°F | 57°F | 46°F | 35°F | 27°F |
Erie County next to its neighbours
Huron County, OH, 28 km south, gets 47 nights below 20°F to Erie County's 41 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Erie County, OH | - | 113 nights | 41 nights | 21°F |
| Huron County, OH | 28 km south | 123 nights | 47 nights | 19°F |
| Lorain County, OH | 34 km east | 117 nights | 42 nights | 20°F |
| Ottawa County, OH | 39 km northwest | 121 nights | 46 nights | 20°F |
| Sandusky County, OH | 47 km west | 129 nights | 49 nights | 19°F |
| Seneca County, OH | 55 km southwest | 123 nights | 49 nights | 19°F |
| Medina County, OH | 65 km southeast | 132 nights | 55 nights | 17°F |
Erie County within OH
Erie County ranks 60 of 88 OH counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Williams County, OH at 61 nights, with a 19°F average winter low. The fewest is Scioto County, OH: 28 nights, winter lows near 24°F. At 601 ft, Erie County sits 315 ft below the state's median county elevation of 916 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 Sandusky, OH, 13 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.