Will Pipes Freeze in Keith County, NE? 62 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Keith County
In a normal year Keith County, NE gets 62 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 72% 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 | 149 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 62 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 23 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 7 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 62 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 04/22. For 20°F: 11/13 to 03/23.
How cold Keith County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 19°F; the coldest month, January, averages 17°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: 23 nights a year, and 7 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17°F | 19°F | 27°F | 36°F | 47°F | 57°F | 63°F | 61°F | 52°F | 39°F | 28°F | 20°F |
Keith County next to its neighbours
Perkins County, NE, 37 km south, gets 79 nights below 20°F to Keith County's 62 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keith County, NE | - | 149 nights | 62 nights | 17°F |
| Perkins County, NE | 37 km south | 166 nights | 79 nights | 14°F |
| Arthur County, NE | 42 km north | 169 nights | 83 nights | 14°F |
| Deuel County, NE | 58 km west | 167 nights | 82 nights | 14°F |
| McPherson County, NE | 67 km northeast | 169 nights | 83 nights | 14°F |
| Sedgwick County, CO | 70 km southwest | 161 nights | 74 nights | 15°F |
| Garden County, NE | 73 km northwest | 171 nights | 84 nights | 13°F |
Keith County within NE
Keith County ranks 88 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 3,403 ft, Keith County sits 1,393 ft above 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.
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 Kingsley Dam, NE, 3 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.