Will Pipes Freeze in Finney County, KS? 64 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Finney County
In a normal year Finney County, KS gets 64 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 74% 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 | 145 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 64 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 19 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 4 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 64 nights of risk to 19 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 10/17, last around 04/28. For 20°F: 11/10 to 03/27.
How cold Finney County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 19°F; the coldest month, January, averages 17°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, November, December: 19 nights a year, and 4 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17°F | 20°F | 29°F | 37°F | 49°F | 60°F | 65°F | 63°F | 54°F | 40°F | 27°F | 19°F |
Finney County next to its neighbours
Scott County, KS, 50 km north, gets 71 nights below 20°F to Finney County's 64 nights. Gray County, KS, 42 km southeast, gets 57 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Finney County, KS | - | 145 nights | 64 nights | 17°F |
| Gray County, KS | 42 km southeast | 140 nights | 57 nights | 18°F |
| Kearny County, KS | 50 km west | 140 nights | 57 nights | 19°F |
| Scott County, KS | 50 km north | 154 nights | 71 nights | 16°F |
| Lane County, KS | 54 km northeast | 148 nights | 66 nights | 16°F |
| Haskell County, KS | 56 km south | 136 nights | 52 nights | 19°F |
| Wichita County, KS | 72 km northwest | 160 nights | 74 nights | 16°F |
Finney County within KS
Finney County ranks 21 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 2,895 ft, Finney County sits 1,369 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.
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 Garden City Experiment Station, KS, 9 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.