Will Pipes Freeze in Potter County, SD? 105 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Potter County
In a normal year Potter County, SD gets 105 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 93% 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 | 176 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 105 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 58 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 32 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 105 nights of risk to 58 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 10/02, last around 05/07. For 20°F: 10/30 to 04/08.
How cold Potter County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 8°F; the coldest month, January, averages 5°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, November, December: 58 nights a year, and 32 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5°F | 9°F | 20°F | 32°F | 44°F | 55°F | 60°F | 58°F | 48°F | 35°F | 21°F | 10°F |
Potter County next to its neighbours
Edmunds County, SD, 71 km northeast, gets 111 nights below 20°F to Potter County's 105 nights. Sully County, SD, 39 km south, gets 99 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Potter County, SD | - | 176 nights | 105 nights | 5°F |
| Sully County, SD | 39 km south | 172 nights | 99 nights | 7°F |
| Walworth County, SD | 42 km north | 178 nights | 105 nights | 4°F |
| Faulk County, SD | 64 km east | 172 nights | 101 nights | 4°F |
| Hyde County, SD | 69 km southeast | 170 nights | 97 nights | 7°F |
| Dewey County, SD | 70 km west | 170 nights | 94 nights | 8°F |
| Edmunds County, SD | 71 km northeast | 181 nights | 111 nights | 3°F |
Potter County within SD
Potter County ranks 16 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 2,160 ft, Potter County sits 375 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 Gettysburg, SD, 4 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.