Will Pipes Freeze in Hartley County, TX? 54 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Hartley County
In a normal year Hartley County, TX gets 54 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 67% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs November to March, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 141 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 54 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 11 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 1 night |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 54 nights of risk to 11 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 10/24, last around 04/22. For 20°F: 11/17 to 03/17.
How cold Hartley County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 21°F; the coldest month, January, averages 20°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: 11 nights a year, and 1 night below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20°F | 23°F | 30°F | 38°F | 48°F | 58°F | 63°F | 62°F | 54°F | 41°F | 29°F | 21°F |
Hartley County next to its neighbours
Oldham County, TX, 49 km south, gets 41 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hartley County, TX | - | 141 nights | 54 nights | 20°F |
| Oldham County, TX | 49 km south | 123 nights | 41 nights | 21°F |
| Dallam County, TX | 50 km north | 138 nights | 51 nights | 20°F |
| Moore County, TX | 65 km east | 123 nights | 37 nights | 22°F |
| Sherman County, TX | 80 km northeast | 132 nights | 45 nights | 21°F |
| Potter County, TX | 81 km southeast | 115 nights | 33 nights | 23°F |
| Deaf Smith County, TX | 100 km south | 120 nights | 36 nights | 22°F |
Hartley County within TX
Hartley County ranks 2 of 254 TX counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Lipscomb County, TX at 57 nights, with a 20°F average winter low. The fewest is Cameron County, TX: none, winter lows near 54°F. At 3,888 ft, Hartley County sits 2,895 ft above the state's median county elevation of 992 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 Hartley, TX, 21 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.