Will Pipes Freeze in Knox County, NE? 79 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Knox County
In a normal year Knox County, NE gets 79 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 82% 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 | 154 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 79 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 38 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 16 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 79 nights of risk to 38 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 10/06, last around 04/30. For 20°F: 11/03 to 04/03.
How cold Knox County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 14°F; the coldest month, January, averages 11°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, November, December: 38 nights a year, and 16 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11°F | 15°F | 25°F | 36°F | 48°F | 58°F | 63°F | 61°F | 52°F | 38°F | 25°F | 15°F |
Knox County next to its neighbours
Bon Homme County, SD, 39 km north, gets 84 nights below 20°F to Knox County's 79 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knox County, NE | - | 154 nights | 79 nights | 11°F |
| Bon Homme County, SD | 39 km north | 157 nights | 84 nights | 9°F |
| Pierce County, NE | 46 km southeast | 157 nights | 80 nights | 10°F |
| Antelope County, NE | 52 km south | 160 nights | 84 nights | 11°F |
| Cedar County, NE | 52 km east | 154 nights | 80 nights | 10°F |
| Yankton County, SD | 58 km northeast | 156 nights | 84 nights | 10°F |
| Holt County, NE | 76 km west | 162 nights | 84 nights | 11°F |
Knox County within NE
Knox County ranks 43 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 1,519 ft, Knox County sits 491 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 Creighton, NE, 19 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.