Will Pipes Freeze in Howard County, NE? 66 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Howard County
In a normal year Howard County, NE gets 66 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 75% 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 | 146 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 66 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 27 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 10 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 66 nights of risk to 27 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 10/14, last around 04/23. For 20°F: 11/09 to 03/27.
How cold Howard County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 17°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: 27 nights a year, and 10 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14°F | 18°F | 28°F | 38°F | 50°F | 60°F | 65°F | 63°F | 53°F | 40°F | 28°F | 18°F |
Howard County next to its neighbours
Sherman County, NE, 38 km west, gets 82 nights below 20°F to Howard County's 66 nights. Hall County, NE, 39 km south, gets 64 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Howard County, NE | - | 146 nights | 66 nights | 14°F |
| Sherman County, NE | 38 km west | 161 nights | 82 nights | 12°F |
| Hall County, NE | 39 km south | 144 nights | 64 nights | 16°F |
| Greeley County, NE | 39 km north | 169 nights | 89 nights | 11°F |
| Merrick County, NE | 41 km east | 135 nights | 59 nights | 14°F |
| Nance County, NE | 48 km northeast | 148 nights | 71 nights | 13°F |
| Valley County, NE | 55 km northwest | 164 nights | 85 nights | 12°F |
Howard County within NE
Howard County ranks 80 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 1,917 ft, Howard County sits 93 ft below 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.
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 Saint Paul, NE, 5 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.