Will Pipes Freeze in Pawnee County, KS? 47 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Pawnee County
In a normal year Pawnee County, KS gets 47 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 62% 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 | 124 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 47 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 13 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 2 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 47 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 10/22, last around 04/22. For 20°F: 11/18 to 03/21.
How cold Pawnee County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 22°F; the coldest month, January, averages 20°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, November, December: 13 nights a year, and 2 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20°F | 23°F | 32°F | 40°F | 52°F | 62°F | 67°F | 66°F | 57°F | 44°F | 32°F | 23°F |
Pawnee County next to its neighbours
Edwards County, KS, 34 km south, gets 52 nights below 20°F to Pawnee County's 47 nights. Stafford County, KS, 48 km east, gets 40 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pawnee County, KS | - | 124 nights | 47 nights | 20°F |
| Edwards County, KS | 34 km south | 131 nights | 52 nights | 18°F |
| Rush County, KS | 39 km north | 144 nights | 64 nights | 16°F |
| Stafford County, KS | 48 km east | 113 nights | 40 nights | 20°F |
| Barton County, KS | 53 km northeast | 121 nights | 45 nights | 18°F |
| Hodgeman County, KS | 59 km west | 143 nights | 59 nights | 18°F |
| Ness County, KS | 68 km northwest | 149 nights | 68 nights | 16°F |
Pawnee County within KS
Pawnee County ranks 64 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 2,038 ft, Pawnee County sits 513 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 Larned #2, KS, 12 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.