Will Pipes Freeze in Frontier County, NE? 88 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Frontier County
In a normal year Frontier County, NE gets 88 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 86% 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 | 166 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 88 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 35 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 12 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 88 nights of risk to 35 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 10/09, last around 05/01. For 20°F: 11/04 to 03/31.
How cold Frontier County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 14°F; the coldest month, January, averages 13°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, November, December: 35 nights a year, and 12 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13°F | 16°F | 25°F | 34°F | 46°F | 57°F | 62°F | 60°F | 49°F | 36°F | 23°F | 15°F |
Frontier County next to its neighbours
Red Willow County, NE, 41 km south, gets 72 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frontier County, NE | - | 166 nights | 88 nights | 13°F |
| Red Willow County, NE | 41 km south | 156 nights | 72 nights | 15°F |
| Gosper County, NE | 49 km east | 154 nights | 75 nights | 14°F |
| Hayes County, NE | 54 km west | 157 nights | 70 nights | 15°F |
| Furnas County, NE | 57 km southeast | 165 nights | 83 nights | 13°F |
| Dawson County, NE | 62 km northeast | 157 nights | 75 nights | 15°F |
| Lincoln County, NE | 64 km northwest | 163 nights | 78 nights | 14°F |
Frontier County within NE
Frontier County ranks 10 of 93 NE counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Sioux County, NE at 114 nights, with a 11°F average winter low. The fewest is Fillmore County, NE: 55 nights, winter lows near 19°F. At 2,570 ft, Frontier County sits 561 ft above the state's median county elevation of 2,010 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 Curtis, NE, 15 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.