Will Pipes Freeze in Orange County, IN? 41 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Orange County
In a normal year Orange County, IN gets 41 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 57% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs November to March, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 118 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 41 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 12 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 3 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 41 nights of risk to 12 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 10/18, last around 04/21. For 20°F: 11/21 to 03/16.
How cold Orange County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 24°F; the coldest month, January, averages 21°F overnight. 7 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, December: 12 nights a year, and 3 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21°F | 24°F | 32°F | 41°F | 52°F | 61°F | 65°F | 62°F | 54°F | 42°F | 33°F | 26°F |
Orange County next to its neighbours
Crawford County, IN, 29 km south, gets 37 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orange County, IN | - | 118 nights | 41 nights | 21°F |
| Crawford County, IN | 29 km south | 110 nights | 37 nights | 24°F |
| Martin County, IN | 32 km northwest | 109 nights | 38 nights | 22°F |
| Lawrence County, IN | 33 km north | 112 nights | 40 nights | 21°F |
| Washington County, IN | 34 km east | 104 nights | 34 nights | 24°F |
| Dubois County, IN | 39 km southwest | 108 nights | 34 nights | 22°F |
| Harrison County, IN | 52 km southeast | 92 nights | 27 nights | 25°F |
Orange County within IN
Orange County ranks 59 of 92 IN counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Steuben County, IN at 63 nights, with a 19°F average winter low. The fewest is Floyd County, IN: 19 nights, winter lows near 29°F. At 727 ft, Orange County sits close to the state's median county elevation of 759 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 Paoli, IN, 1 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.