Will Pipes Freeze in Howard County, IN? 52 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Howard County
In a normal year Howard County, IN gets 52 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 66% 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 | 131 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 52 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 23 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 8 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 52 nights of risk to 23 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 10/18, last around 04/27. For 20°F: 11/21 to 03/25.
How cold Howard County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 20°F; the coldest month, January, averages 17°F overnight. 7 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, November, December: 23 nights a year, and 8 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17°F | 19°F | 28°F | 39°F | 50°F | 60°F | 62°F | 60°F | 53°F | 42°F | 32°F | 23°F |
Howard County next to its neighbours
Tipton County, IN, 20 km south, gets 51 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard County, IN | - | 131 nights | 52 nights | 17°F |
| Tipton County, IN | 20 km south | 131 nights | 51 nights | 17°F |
| Miami County, IN | 33 km north | 130 nights | 51 nights | 18°F |
| Cass County, IN | 36 km northwest | 125 nights | 48 nights | 18°F |
| Clinton County, IN | 37 km southwest | 119 nights | 44 nights | 19°F |
| Grant County, IN | 39 km east | 126 nights | 48 nights | 18°F |
| Carroll County, IN | 40 km west | 121 nights | 44 nights | 19°F |
Howard County within IN
Howard County ranks 18 of 92 IN counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Steuben County, IN at 63 nights, with a 19°F average winter low. The fewest is Floyd County, IN: 19 nights, winter lows near 29°F. At 797 ft, Howard County sits close to the state's median county elevation of 759 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 Kokomo (3 mi WSW), IN, 6 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.