Will Pipes Freeze in Oswego County, NY? 63 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Oswego County
In a normal year Oswego County, NY gets 63 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 73% 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 | 147 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 63 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 29 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 12 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 63 nights of risk to 29 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 10/14, last around 05/10. For 20°F: 11/23 to 04/04.
How cold Oswego County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 16°F; the coldest month, January, averages 13°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, November, December: 29 nights a year, and 12 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13°F | 15°F | 22°F | 33°F | 44°F | 54°F | 58°F | 58°F | 50°F | 41°F | 31°F | 21°F |
Oswego County next to its neighbours
Jefferson County, NY, 61 km north, gets 77 nights below 20°F to Oswego County's 63 nights. Onondaga County, NY, 51 km south, gets 61 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oswego County, NY | - | 147 nights | 63 nights | 13°F |
| Onondaga County, NY | 51 km south | 140 nights | 61 nights | 15°F |
| Cayuga County, NY | 58 km southwest | 141 nights | 62 nights | 16°F |
| Jefferson County, NY | 61 km north | 151 nights | 77 nights | 10°F |
| Oneida County, NY | 67 km east | 147 nights | 67 nights | 13°F |
| Lewis County, NY | 71 km northeast | 165 nights | 86 nights | 8°F |
| Wayne County, NY | 73 km west | 133 nights | 54 nights | 16°F |
Oswego County within NY
Oswego County ranks 38 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 406 ft, Oswego County sits 482 ft below 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 Pulaski, NY, 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.