Will Pipes Freeze in Jewell County, KS? 65 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Jewell County
In a normal year Jewell County, KS gets 65 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 74% 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 | 144 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 65 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 27 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 9 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 65 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 04/30. For 20°F: 11/08 to 03/31.
How cold Jewell 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 9 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14°F | 18°F | 27°F | 37°F | 48°F | 60°F | 66°F | 63°F | 53°F | 41°F | 27°F | 18°F |
Jewell County next to its neighbours
Webster County, NE, 51 km northwest, gets 83 nights below 20°F to Jewell County's 65 nights. Mitchell County, KS, 43 km south, gets 60 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jewell County, KS | - | 144 nights | 65 nights | 14°F |
| Mitchell County, KS | 43 km south | 138 nights | 60 nights | 15°F |
| Nuckolls County, NE | 47 km north | 143 nights | 63 nights | 15°F |
| Smith County, KS | 48 km west | 136 nights | 58 nights | 16°F |
| Republic County, KS | 49 km east | 133 nights | 57 nights | 16°F |
| Webster County, NE | 51 km northwest | 159 nights | 83 nights | 13°F |
| Cloud County, KS | 59 km southeast | 128 nights | 52 nights | 18°F |
Jewell County within KS
Jewell County ranks 18 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 1,788 ft, Jewell County sits 263 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 Mankato, KS, 2 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. Why elevation is part of the blend: how county numbers are made.