Will Pipes Freeze in Lorain County, OH? 42 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Lorain County
In a normal year Lorain County, OH gets 42 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 57% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs November to March, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 117 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 42 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 15 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 4 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 42 nights of risk to 15 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 11/01, last around 04/22. For 20°F: 12/02 to 03/17.
How cold Lorain County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 23°F; the coldest month, January, averages 20°F overnight. 7 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, December: 15 nights a year, and 4 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20°F | 22°F | 29°F | 39°F | 50°F | 59°F | 63°F | 61°F | 54°F | 44°F | 34°F | 26°F |
Lorain County next to its neighbours
Medina County, OH, 43 km southeast, gets 55 nights below 20°F to Lorain County's 42 nights. Cuyahoga County, OH, 50 km east, gets 30 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lorain County, OH | - | 117 nights | 42 nights | 20°F |
| Erie County, OH | 34 km west | 113 nights | 41 nights | 21°F |
| Medina County, OH | 43 km southeast | 132 nights | 55 nights | 17°F |
| Huron County, OH | 48 km southwest | 123 nights | 47 nights | 19°F |
| Cuyahoga County, OH | 50 km east | 93 nights | 30 nights | 23°F |
| Summit County, OH | 64 km southeast | 127 nights | 48 nights | 19°F |
| Ashland County, OH | 67 km south | 136 nights | 53 nights | 18°F |
Lorain County within OH
Lorain County ranks 58 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 627 ft, Lorain County sits 289 ft below 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.
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 Elyria (3 mi E), OH, 12 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.