Will Pipes Freeze in Nance County, NE? 71 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Nance County
In a normal year Nance County, NE gets 71 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 77% 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 | 71 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 32 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 12 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 71 nights of risk to 32 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 10/05, last around 04/30. For 20°F: 11/02 to 04/01.
How cold Nance County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 15°F; the coldest month, January, averages 13°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: 32 nights a year, and 12 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13°F | 16°F | 26°F | 37°F | 49°F | 59°F | 63°F | 61°F | 52°F | 39°F | 26°F | 17°F |
Nance County next to its neighbours
Boone County, NE, 34 km north, gets 81 nights below 20°F to Nance County's 71 nights. Merrick County, NE, 26 km south, gets 59 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nance County, NE | - | 148 nights | 71 nights | 13°F |
| Merrick County, NE | 26 km south | 135 nights | 59 nights | 14°F |
| Boone County, NE | 34 km north | 161 nights | 81 nights | 11°F |
| Polk County, NE | 42 km southeast | 144 nights | 69 nights | 13°F |
| Platte County, NE | 44 km northeast | 150 nights | 73 nights | 13°F |
| Howard County, NE | 48 km southwest | 146 nights | 66 nights | 14°F |
| Greeley County, NE | 49 km west | 169 nights | 89 nights | 11°F |
Nance County within NE
Nance County ranks 65 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 1,678 ft, Nance County sits 332 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.
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 Genoa (2 mi W), NE, 20 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. How a county figure is built from stations: how the numbers are made.