Will Pipes Freeze in Furnas County, NE? 83 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Furnas County
In a normal year Furnas County, NE gets 83 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 84% 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 | 165 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 83 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 30 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 8 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 83 nights of risk to 30 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 10/04, last around 05/04. For 20°F: 10/30 to 04/06.
How cold Furnas 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: 30 nights a year, and 8 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13°F | 16°F | 25°F | 35°F | 47°F | 58°F | 63°F | 60°F | 50°F | 35°F | 23°F | 14°F |
Furnas County next to its neighbours
Frontier County, NE, 57 km northwest, gets 88 nights below 20°F to Furnas County's 83 nights. Gosper County, NE, 36 km north, gets 75 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Furnas County, NE | - | 165 nights | 83 nights | 13°F |
| Gosper County, NE | 36 km north | 154 nights | 75 nights | 14°F |
| Harlan County, NE | 43 km east | 150 nights | 71 nights | 15°F |
| Norton County, KS | 45 km south | 151 nights | 69 nights | 15°F |
| Red Willow County, NE | 48 km west | 156 nights | 72 nights | 15°F |
| Phelps County, NE | 56 km northeast | 153 nights | 72 nights | 14°F |
| Frontier County, NE | 57 km northwest | 166 nights | 88 nights | 13°F |
Furnas County within NE
Furnas County ranks 23 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 2,383 ft, Furnas County sits 373 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.
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 Beaver City, NE, 10 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.