Will Pipes Freeze in Ford County, KS? 48 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Ford County
In a normal year Ford County, KS gets 48 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 63% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs October to March, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 130 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 48 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 13 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 2 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 48 nights of risk to 13 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 04/21. For 20°F: 11/13 to 03/20.
How cold Ford County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 22°F; the coldest month, January, averages 20°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: 13 nights a year, and 2 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20°F | 23°F | 31°F | 40°F | 51°F | 62°F | 66°F | 65°F | 56°F | 43°F | 30°F | 22°F |
Ford County next to its neighbours
Hodgeman County, KS, 44 km north, gets 59 nights below 20°F to Ford County's 48 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ford County, KS | - | 130 nights | 48 nights | 20°F |
| Hodgeman County, KS | 44 km north | 143 nights | 59 nights | 18°F |
| Gray County, KS | 50 km west | 140 nights | 57 nights | 18°F |
| Clark County, KS | 51 km south | 136 nights | 60 nights | 19°F |
| Kiowa County, KS | 55 km east | 129 nights | 49 nights | 19°F |
| Edwards County, KS | 55 km northeast | 131 nights | 52 nights | 18°F |
| Meade County, KS | 65 km southwest | 131 nights | 49 nights | 19°F |
Ford County within KS
Ford County ranks 55 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 2,444 ft, Ford County sits 918 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.
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 Dodge City, KS, 11 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. Why elevation is part of the blend: how county numbers are made.