Will Pipes Freeze in Lipscomb County, TX? 57 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Lipscomb County
In a normal year Lipscomb County, TX gets 57 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 70% 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 | 134 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 57 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 13 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 2 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 57 nights of risk to 13 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 04/27. For 20°F: 11/08 to 03/27.
How cold Lipscomb County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 20°F; the coldest month, January, averages 18°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: 13 nights a year, and 2 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18°F | 21°F | 30°F | 39°F | 51°F | 61°F | 65°F | 64°F | 55°F | 41°F | 28°F | 20°F |
Lipscomb County next to its neighbours
Ellis County, OK, 47 km east, gets 39 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lipscomb County, TX | - | 134 nights | 57 nights | 18°F |
| Ellis County, OK | 47 km east | 115 nights | 39 nights | 22°F |
| Ochiltree County, TX | 49 km west | 129 nights | 44 nights | 24°F |
| Hemphill County, TX | 52 km south | 118 nights | 42 nights | 21°F |
| Beaver County, OK | 55 km north | 134 nights | 55 nights | 19°F |
| Roberts County, TX | 71 km southwest | 113 nights | 35 nights | 23°F |
| Harper County, OK | 79 km northeast | 104 nights | 34 nights | 22°F |
Lipscomb County within TX
Lipscomb County ranks 1 of 254 TX counties for nights below 20°F. The fewest is Cameron County, TX: none, winter lows near 54°F. At 2,487 ft, Lipscomb County sits 1,495 ft above the state's median county elevation of 992 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 Lipscomb, TX, 5 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.