Will Pipes Freeze in Osborne County, KS? 75 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Osborne County
In a normal year Osborne County, KS gets 75 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 79% 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 | 154 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 75 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 28 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 8 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 75 nights of risk to 28 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 04/29. For 20°F: 11/07 to 03/31.
How cold Osborne County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 16°F; the coldest month, January, averages 14°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, November, December: 28 nights a year, and 8 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14°F | 17°F | 27°F | 36°F | 48°F | 60°F | 65°F | 62°F | 53°F | 39°F | 26°F | 17°F |
Osborne County next to its neighbours
Rooks County, KS, 48 km west, gets 63 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Osborne County, KS | - | 154 nights | 75 nights | 14°F |
| Rooks County, KS | 48 km west | 147 nights | 63 nights | 16°F |
| Russell County, KS | 48 km south | 133 nights | 55 nights | 18°F |
| Mitchell County, KS | 48 km east | 138 nights | 60 nights | 15°F |
| Smith County, KS | 49 km north | 136 nights | 58 nights | 16°F |
| Lincoln County, KS | 58 km southeast | 141 nights | 63 nights | 16°F |
| Jewell County, KS | 67 km northeast | 144 nights | 65 nights | 14°F |
Osborne County within KS
Osborne County ranks 7 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 1,705 ft, Osborne County sits 179 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 Alton (1 mi W), KS, 23 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.