Will Pipes Freeze in Henry County, KY? 40 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Henry County
In a normal year Henry County, KY gets 40 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 56% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs November to April, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 115 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 40 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 11 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 3 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 40 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 10/25, last around 04/12. For 20°F: 11/27 to 03/11.
How cold Henry County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 25°F; the coldest month, January, averages 23°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, December: 11 nights a year, and 3 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23°F | 25°F | 32°F | 42°F | 52°F | 61°F | 65°F | 62°F | 55°F | 43°F | 33°F | 27°F |
Henry County next to its neighbours
Shelby County, KY, 25 km south, gets 55 nights below 20°F to Henry County's 40 nights. Carroll County, KY, 24 km north, gets 29 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry County, KY | - | 115 nights | 40 nights | 23°F |
| Carroll County, KY | 24 km north | 98 nights | 29 nights | 24°F |
| Owen County, KY | 25 km east | 101 nights | 32 nights | 23°F |
| Shelby County, KY | 25 km south | 135 nights | 55 nights | 21°F |
| Trimble County, KY | 28 km northwest | 97 nights | 29 nights | 24°F |
| Oldham County, KY | 30 km west | 106 nights | 34 nights | 23°F |
| Franklin County, KY | 33 km southeast | 100 nights | 31 nights | 25°F |
Henry County within KY
Henry County ranks 5 of 120 KY counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Shelby County, KY at 55 nights, with a 22°F average winter low. The fewest is Lyon County, KY: 15 nights, winter lows near 32°F. At 821 ft, Henry County sits close to the state's median county elevation of 797 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.
At this many nights, foam alone is not the answer: insulate or heat tape?.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Crestwood (4 mi NE), KY, 28 km away (fair 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.