Will Pipes Freeze in Otsego County, NY? 76 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Otsego County
In a normal year Otsego County, NY gets 76 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 80% 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 | 159 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 76 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 37 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 13 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 76 nights of risk to 37 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 10/07, last around 05/07. For 20°F: 11/15 to 04/02.
How cold Otsego County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 16°F; the coldest month, January, averages 13°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: 37 nights a year, and 13 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13°F | 14°F | 21°F | 33°F | 44°F | 53°F | 58°F | 56°F | 49°F | 38°F | 29°F | 20°F |
Otsego County next to its neighbours
Schoharie County, NY, 49 km east, gets 76 nights below 20°F to Otsego County's 76 nights. Montgomery County, NY, 57 km northeast, gets 71 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Otsego County, NY | - | 159 nights | 76 nights | 13°F |
| Schoharie County, NY | 49 km east | 156 nights | 76 nights | 12°F |
| Delaware County, NY | 49 km south | 170 nights | 81 nights | 12°F |
| Chenango County, NY | 50 km west | 160 nights | 75 nights | 12°F |
| Montgomery County, NY | 57 km northeast | 150 nights | 71 nights | 12°F |
| Madison County, NY | 60 km northwest | 156 nights | 77 nights | 12°F |
| Fulton County, NY | 73 km northeast | 179 nights | 95 nights | 7°F |
Otsego County within NY
Otsego County ranks 20 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 1,695 ft, Otsego County sits 807 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.
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 Cooperstown, NY, 13 km away (fair 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.