Will Pipes Freeze in Kimball County, NE? 91 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Kimball County
In a normal year Kimball County, NE gets 91 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 88% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs October to April, worst in December.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 186 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 91 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 36 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 11 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 91 nights of risk to 36 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 09/26, last around 05/15. For 20°F: 10/24 to 04/15.
How cold Kimball County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 14°F; the coldest month, December, averages 13°F overnight. 9 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, April, October, November, December: 36 nights a year, and 11 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13°F | 14°F | 22°F | 29°F | 39°F | 49°F | 55°F | 52°F | 43°F | 31°F | 20°F | 13°F |
Kimball County next to its neighbours
Banner County, NE, 38 km north, gets 88 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kimball County, NE | - | 186 nights | 91 nights | 13°F |
| Banner County, NE | 38 km north | 183 nights | 88 nights | 15°F |
| Cheyenne County, NE | 58 km east | 170 nights | 80 nights | 17°F |
| Scotts Bluff County, NE | 72 km north | 172 nights | 83 nights | 15°F |
| Logan County, CO | 73 km southeast | 168 nights | 77 nights | 15°F |
| Laramie County, WY | 81 km west | 183 nights | 85 nights | 16°F |
| Morrill County, NE | 84 km northeast | 171 nights | 83 nights | 14°F |
Kimball County within NE
Kimball County ranks 4 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 4,931 ft, Kimball County sits 2,921 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 Kimball (2 mi NE), NE, 8 km away (close 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.