Will Pipes Freeze in Phillips County, CO? 81 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Phillips County
In a normal year Phillips County, CO gets 81 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 83% 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 | 170 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 81 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 29 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 9 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 81 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 10/03, last around 05/11. For 20°F: 10/28 to 04/08.
How cold Phillips County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 14°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 9 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13°F | 15°F | 23°F | 31°F | 43°F | 53°F | 59°F | 56°F | 47°F | 33°F | 22°F | 13°F |
Phillips County next to its neighbours
Deuel County, NE, 58 km north, gets 82 nights below 20°F to Phillips County's 81 nights. Sedgwick County, CO, 31 km north, gets 74 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phillips County, CO | - | 170 nights | 81 nights | 13°F |
| Sedgwick County, CO | 31 km north | 161 nights | 74 nights | 15°F |
| Chase County, NE | 55 km east | 167 nights | 81 nights | 13°F |
| Deuel County, NE | 58 km north | 167 nights | 82 nights | 14°F |
| Logan County, CO | 65 km west | 168 nights | 77 nights | 15°F |
| Yuma County, CO | 66 km south | 162 nights | 72 nights | 16°F |
| Perkins County, NE | 67 km northeast | 166 nights | 79 nights | 14°F |
Phillips County within CO
Phillips County ranks 43 of 64 CO counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Summit County, CO at 177 nights, with a 5°F average winter low. The fewest is Mesa County, CO: 44 nights, winter lows near 21°F. At 3,774 ft, Phillips County sits 3,106 ft below the state's median county elevation of 6,880 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.
The dates to be done by: when freeze season starts and ends.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Holyoke, CO, 6 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.