Will Pipes Freeze in Ontario County, NY? 56 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Ontario County
In a normal year Ontario County, NY 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 | 131 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 56 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 21 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 5 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 56 nights of risk to 21 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 10/22, last around 04/29. For 20°F: 11/28 to 03/28.
How cold Ontario County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 20°F; the coldest month, January, averages 17°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, December: 21 nights a year, and 5 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17°F | 18°F | 24°F | 35°F | 46°F | 56°F | 61°F | 60°F | 53°F | 42°F | 33°F | 24°F |
Ontario County next to its neighbours
Seneca County, NY, 40 km east, gets 58 nights below 20°F to Ontario County's 56 nights. Yates County, NY, 29 km southeast, gets 56 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ontario County, NY | - | 131 nights | 56 nights | 17°F |
| Yates County, NY | 29 km southeast | 133 nights | 56 nights | 17°F |
| Seneca County, NY | 40 km east | 133 nights | 58 nights | 16°F |
| Livingston County, NY | 41 km west | 140 nights | 61 nights | 16°F |
| Wayne County, NY | 45 km northeast | 133 nights | 54 nights | 16°F |
| Monroe County, NY | 54 km northwest | 131 nights | 51 nights | 18°F |
| Schuyler County, NY | 57 km southeast | 153 nights | 70 nights | 15°F |
Ontario County within NY
Ontario County ranks 45 of 62 NY counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Franklin County, NY at 107 nights, with a 7°F average winter low. The fewest is Bronx County, NY: 16 nights, winter lows near 30°F. At 1,051 ft, Ontario County sits 163 ft above the state's median county elevation of 888 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 Canandaigua (3 mi S), NY, 2 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.