Will Pipes Freeze in Oglala Lakota County, SD? 88 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Oglala Lakota County
In a normal year Oglala Lakota County, SD gets 88 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 86% 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 | 171 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 88 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 40 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 17 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 88 nights of risk to 40 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 10/04, last around 05/09. For 20°F: 10/31 to 04/10.
How cold Oglala Lakota County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 14°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, April, November, December: 40 nights a year, and 17 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13°F | 15°F | 24°F | 32°F | 43°F | 53°F | 60°F | 57°F | 47°F | 34°F | 23°F | 14°F |
Oglala Lakota County next to its neighbours
Fall River County, SD, 78 km west, gets 96 nights below 20°F to Oglala Lakota County's 88 nights. Pennington County, SD, 77 km north, gets 83 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oglala Lakota County, SD | - | 171 nights | 88 nights | 13°F |
| Bennett County, SD | 73 km east | 174 nights | 88 nights | 12°F |
| Pennington County, SD | 77 km north | 167 nights | 83 nights | 13°F |
| Fall River County, SD | 78 km west | 182 nights | 96 nights | 12°F |
| Custer County, SD | 82 km northwest | 192 nights | 98 nights | 13°F |
| Dawes County, NE | 83 km southwest | 176 nights | 90 nights | 13°F |
| Jackson County, SD | 85 km northeast | 158 nights | 79 nights | 13°F |
Oglala Lakota County within SD
Oglala Lakota County ranks 51 of 66 SD counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Codington County, SD at 113 nights, with a 6°F average winter low. The fewest is Tripp County, SD: 75 nights, winter lows near 15°F. At 2,965 ft, Oglala Lakota County sits 1,180 ft above the state's median county elevation of 1,785 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.
The dates to be done by: when freeze season starts and ends.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Manderson (3 mi NE), SD, 13 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.