Will Pipes Freeze in Knox County, OH? 59 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Knox County
In a normal year Knox County, OH gets 59 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 71% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs November to April, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 145 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 59 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 23 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 8 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 59 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 10/10, last around 05/01. For 20°F: 11/11 to 03/31.
How cold Knox County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 19°F; the coldest month, January, averages 16°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, December: 23 nights a year, and 8 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16°F | 18°F | 26°F | 36°F | 47°F | 56°F | 59°F | 57°F | 49°F | 38°F | 29°F | 22°F |
Knox County next to its neighbours
Morrow County, OH, 35 km northwest, gets 55 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Knox County, OH | - | 145 nights | 59 nights | 16°F |
| Morrow County, OH | 35 km northwest | 134 nights | 55 nights | 17°F |
| Licking County, OH | 35 km south | 126 nights | 45 nights | 19°F |
| Richland County, OH | 42 km north | 129 nights | 50 nights | 18°F |
| Coshocton County, OH | 43 km east | 124 nights | 44 nights | 20°F |
| Holmes County, OH | 45 km northeast | 140 nights | 55 nights | 18°F |
| Ashland County, OH | 51 km north | 136 nights | 53 nights | 18°F |
Knox County within OH
Knox County ranks 2 of 88 OH counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Williams County, OH at 61 nights, with a 19°F average winter low. The fewest is Scioto County, OH: 28 nights, winter lows near 24°F. At 1,080 ft, Knox County sits 164 ft above the state's median county elevation of 916 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 Fredericktown (4 mi S), OH, 10 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.