Will Pipes Freeze in Faulk County, SD? 101 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Faulk County
In a normal year Faulk County, SD gets 101 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 92% 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 | 172 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 101 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 58 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 31 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 101 nights of risk to 58 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 09/28, last around 05/10. For 20°F: 10/25 to 04/13.
How cold Faulk County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 8°F; the coldest month, January, averages 4°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, April, November, December: 58 nights a year, and 31 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4°F | 8°F | 19°F | 31°F | 44°F | 54°F | 59°F | 57°F | 47°F | 34°F | 21°F | 10°F |
Faulk County next to its neighbours
Edmunds County, SD, 39 km north, gets 111 nights below 20°F to Faulk County's 101 nights. Hand County, SD, 59 km south, gets 98 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Faulk County, SD | - | 172 nights | 101 nights | 4°F |
| Edmunds County, SD | 39 km north | 181 nights | 111 nights | 3°F |
| Hand County, SD | 59 km south | 172 nights | 98 nights | 7°F |
| Potter County, SD | 64 km west | 176 nights | 105 nights | 5°F |
| Hyde County, SD | 64 km southwest | 170 nights | 97 nights | 7°F |
| Spink County, SD | 66 km east | 180 nights | 109 nights | 3°F |
| Walworth County, SD | 79 km northwest | 178 nights | 105 nights | 4°F |
Faulk County within SD
Faulk County ranks 21 of 66 SD counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Codington County, SD at 113 nights, with a 6°F average winter low. The fewest is Tripp County, SD: 75 nights, winter lows near 15°F. At 1,612 ft, Faulk County sits 174 ft below the state's median county elevation of 1,785 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 Faulkton (1 mi NW), SD, 4 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.