Will Pipes Freeze in Hamilton County, KS? 76 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Hamilton County
In a normal year Hamilton County, KS gets 76 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 80% 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 | 157 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 76 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 22 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 4 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 76 nights of risk to 22 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 10/10, last around 05/01. For 20°F: 11/04 to 03/31.
How cold Hamilton County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 15°F; the coldest month, January, averages 14°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: 22 nights a year, and 4 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14°F | 17°F | 26°F | 35°F | 47°F | 57°F | 63°F | 61°F | 51°F | 37°F | 24°F | 15°F |
Hamilton County next to its neighbours
Prowers County, CO, 53 km west, gets 83 nights below 20°F to Hamilton County's 76 nights. Kearny County, KS, 43 km east, gets 57 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton County, KS | - | 157 nights | 76 nights | 14°F |
| Kearny County, KS | 43 km east | 140 nights | 57 nights | 19°F |
| Stanton County, KS | 48 km south | 136 nights | 50 nights | 20°F |
| Prowers County, CO | 53 km west | 162 nights | 83 nights | 14°F |
| Greeley County, KS | 54 km north | 160 nights | 74 nights | 16°F |
| Grant County, KS | 66 km southeast | 149 nights | 67 nights | 17°F |
| Wichita County, KS | 67 km northeast | 160 nights | 74 nights | 16°F |
Hamilton County within KS
Hamilton County ranks 4 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 3,272 ft, Hamilton County sits 1,746 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 Syracuse (1 mi NE), KS, 5 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.