Will Pipes Freeze in Randolph County, WV? 67 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Randolph County
In a normal year Randolph County, WV gets 67 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 75% 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 | 153 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 67 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 26 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 9 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 67 nights of risk to 26 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 05/15. For 20°F: 11/02 to 04/04.
How cold Randolph County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 20°F; the coldest month, January, averages 18°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, November, December: 26 nights a year, and 9 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18°F | 19°F | 26°F | 35°F | 45°F | 53°F | 57°F | 56°F | 49°F | 37°F | 28°F | 22°F |
Randolph County next to its neighbours
Tucker County, WV, 45 km northeast, gets 70 nights below 20°F to Randolph County's 67 nights. Upshur County, WV, 34 km northwest, gets 43 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Randolph County, WV | - | 153 nights | 67 nights | 18°F |
| Upshur County, WV | 34 km northwest | 124 nights | 43 nights | 22°F |
| Barbour County, WV | 41 km north | 141 nights | 53 nights | 20°F |
| Tucker County, WV | 45 km northeast | 149 nights | 70 nights | 17°F |
| Pendleton County, WV | 47 km east | 127 nights | 44 nights | 21°F |
| Pocahontas County, WV | 51 km south | 156 nights | 67 nights | 17°F |
| Highland County, VA | 53 km southeast | 153 nights | 62 nights | 18°F |
Randolph County within WV
Randolph County ranks 2 of 55 WV counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Tucker County, WV at 70 nights, with a 20°F average winter low. The fewest is Mingo County, WV: 25 nights, winter lows near 28°F. At 2,613 ft, Randolph County sits 1,400 ft above the state's median county elevation of 1,213 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 Glady (1 mi N), WV, 13 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.