Will Pipes Freeze in Osage County, MO? 41 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Osage County
In a normal year Osage County, MO 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 56% 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 | 112 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 41 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 13 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 13 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 10/21, last around 04/11. For 20°F: 11/24 to 03/09.
How cold Osage 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: 13 nights a year, and 3 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21°F | 25°F | 33°F | 44°F | 54°F | 63°F | 67°F | 65°F | 56°F | 45°F | 34°F | 26°F |
Osage County next to its neighbours
Gasconade County, MO, 31 km east, gets 46 nights below 20°F to Osage County's 41 nights. Maries County, MO, 34 km south, gets 40 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Osage County, MO | - | 112 nights | 41 nights | 21°F |
| Gasconade County, MO | 31 km east | 119 nights | 46 nights | 19°F |
| Maries County, MO | 34 km south | 112 nights | 40 nights | 24°F |
| Cole County, MO | 37 km west | 104 nights | 35 nights | 21°F |
| Callaway County, MO | 42 km north | 116 nights | 44 nights | 20°F |
| Miller County, MO | 57 km southwest | 95 nights | 29 nights | 23°F |
| Montgomery County, MO | 63 km northeast | 114 nights | 42 nights | 19°F |
Osage County within MO
Osage County ranks 53 of 115 MO counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Caldwell County, MO at 65 nights, with a 19°F average winter low. The fewest is Pemiscot County, MO: 14 nights, winter lows near 31°F. At 920 ft, Osage County sits 78 ft above the state's median county elevation of 842 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.
Interior pipes have a threshold too: the four freeze points.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Freedom, MO, 14 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.