Will Pipes Freeze in Norton County, KS? 69 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Norton County
In a normal year Norton County, KS gets 69 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 76% 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 | 151 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 69 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 26 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 7 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 69 nights of risk to 26 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 10/12, last around 05/01. For 20°F: 11/05 to 03/31.
How cold Norton County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 17°F; the coldest month, January, averages 15°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: 26 nights a year, and 7 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15°F | 18°F | 26°F | 36°F | 47°F | 58°F | 64°F | 62°F | 52°F | 39°F | 26°F | 17°F |
Norton County next to its neighbours
Furnas County, NE, 45 km north, gets 83 nights below 20°F to Norton County's 69 nights. Phillips County, KS, 48 km east, gets 62 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Norton County, KS | - | 151 nights | 69 nights | 15°F |
| Furnas County, NE | 45 km north | 165 nights | 83 nights | 13°F |
| Phillips County, KS | 48 km east | 141 nights | 62 nights | 16°F |
| Graham County, KS | 48 km south | 150 nights | 68 nights | 17°F |
| Decatur County, KS | 48 km west | 163 nights | 78 nights | 16°F |
| Harlan County, NE | 61 km northeast | 150 nights | 71 nights | 15°F |
| Red Willow County, NE | 65 km northwest | 156 nights | 72 nights | 15°F |
Norton County within KS
Norton County ranks 12 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 2,413 ft, Norton County sits 887 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 Norton Dam, KS, 5 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.