Will Pipes Freeze in Pratt County, KS? 43 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Pratt County
In a normal year Pratt County, KS gets 43 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 59% 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 | 122 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 43 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 12 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 2 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 43 nights of risk to 12 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 10/20, last around 04/20. For 20°F: 11/15 to 03/17.
How cold Pratt County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 21°F; the coldest month, January, averages 19°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, December: 12 nights a year, and 2 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19°F | 22°F | 31°F | 41°F | 52°F | 63°F | 67°F | 65°F | 57°F | 43°F | 31°F | 22°F |
Pratt County next to its neighbours
Kiowa County, KS, 49 km west, gets 49 nights below 20°F to Pratt County's 43 nights. Stafford County, KS, 43 km north, gets 40 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pratt County, KS | - | 122 nights | 43 nights | 19°F |
| Stafford County, KS | 43 km north | 113 nights | 40 nights | 20°F |
| Barber County, KS | 47 km south | 116 nights | 41 nights | 21°F |
| Kiowa County, KS | 49 km west | 129 nights | 49 nights | 19°F |
| Kingman County, KS | 54 km east | 116 nights | 42 nights | 19°F |
| Edwards County, KS | 56 km northwest | 131 nights | 52 nights | 18°F |
| Reno County, KS | 67 km northeast | 126 nights | 47 nights | 19°F |
Pratt County within KS
Pratt County ranks 74 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 1,897 ft, Pratt County sits 371 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.
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 Pratt (3 mi NW), KS, 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.