Will Pipes Freeze in Nemaha County, KS? 56 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Nemaha County
In a normal year Nemaha County, KS gets 56 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 69% 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 | 132 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 56 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 22 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 7 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 56 nights of risk to 22 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 10/19, last around 04/19. For 20°F: 11/15 to 03/21.
How cold Nemaha County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 19°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: 22 nights a year, and 7 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16°F | 20°F | 29°F | 40°F | 53°F | 63°F | 66°F | 64°F | 55°F | 42°F | 30°F | 21°F |
Nemaha County next to its neighbours
Brown County, KS, 37 km east, gets 62 nights below 20°F to Nemaha County's 56 nights. Pottawatomie County, KS, 54 km southwest, gets 50 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nemaha County, KS | - | 132 nights | 56 nights | 16°F |
| Brown County, KS | 37 km east | 132 nights | 62 nights | 15°F |
| Pawnee County, NE | 44 km northwest | 137 nights | 62 nights | 15°F |
| Marshall County, KS | 44 km west | 139 nights | 61 nights | 15°F |
| Richardson County, NE | 44 km northeast | 133 nights | 59 nights | 16°F |
| Jackson County, KS | 46 km southeast | 130 nights | 56 nights | 15°F |
| Pottawatomie County, KS | 54 km southwest | 124 nights | 50 nights | 18°F |
Nemaha County within KS
Nemaha County ranks 38 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 1,207 ft, Nemaha County sits 319 ft below 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 Centralia, KS, 13 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.