Will Pipes Freeze in Lane County, KS? 66 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Lane County
In a normal year Lane County, KS gets 66 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 75% 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 | 148 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 66 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 21 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 5 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 66 nights of risk to 21 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 10/15, last around 04/28. For 20°F: 11/08 to 03/30.
How cold Lane County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 18°F; the coldest month, January, averages 16°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: 21 nights a year, and 5 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16°F | 19°F | 28°F | 36°F | 48°F | 59°F | 64°F | 62°F | 53°F | 39°F | 27°F | 18°F |
Lane County next to its neighbours
Scott County, KS, 38 km west, gets 71 nights below 20°F to Lane County's 66 nights. Gove County, KS, 49 km north, gets 64 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lane County, KS | - | 148 nights | 66 nights | 16°F |
| Scott County, KS | 38 km west | 154 nights | 71 nights | 16°F |
| Gove County, KS | 49 km north | 145 nights | 64 nights | 17°F |
| Ness County, KS | 49 km east | 149 nights | 68 nights | 16°F |
| Finney County, KS | 54 km southwest | 145 nights | 64 nights | 17°F |
| Hodgeman County, KS | 66 km southeast | 143 nights | 59 nights | 18°F |
| Trego County, KS | 71 km northeast | 136 nights | 56 nights | 17°F |
Lane County within KS
Lane County ranks 16 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 2,769 ft, Lane County sits 1,243 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.
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 Healy, KS, 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.