Will Pipes Freeze in Perkins County, SD? 93 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Perkins County
In a normal year Perkins County, SD gets 93 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 89% 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 | 173 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 93 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 50 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 25 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 93 nights of risk to 50 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 10/01, last around 05/10. For 20°F: 10/27 to 04/11.
How cold Perkins County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 11°F; the coldest month, January, averages 9°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, April, October, November, December: 50 nights a year, and 25 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9°F | 12°F | 22°F | 31°F | 42°F | 52°F | 58°F | 57°F | 47°F | 34°F | 22°F | 12°F |
Perkins County next to its neighbours
Adams County, ND, 68 km north, gets 118 nights below 20°F to Perkins County's 93 nights. Ziebach County, SD, 84 km southeast, gets 91 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perkins County, SD | - | 173 nights | 93 nights | 9°F |
| Adams County, ND | 68 km north | 199 nights | 118 nights | 5°F |
| Harding County, SD | 79 km west | 183 nights | 100 nights | 8°F |
| Ziebach County, SD | 84 km southeast | 171 nights | 91 nights | 10°F |
| Meade County, SD | 100 km south | 185 nights | 102 nights | 9°F |
| Corson County, SD | 103 km east | 177 nights | 101 nights | 6°F |
| Butte County, SD | 104 km southwest | 177 nights | 95 nights | 10°F |
Perkins County within SD
Perkins County ranks 39 of 66 SD counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Codington County, SD at 113 nights, with a 6°F average winter low. The fewest is Tripp County, SD: 75 nights, winter lows near 15°F. At 2,677 ft, Perkins County sits 891 ft above the state's median county elevation of 1,785 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 Bison, SD, 5 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. Why elevation is part of the blend: how county numbers are made.