Will Pipes Freeze in Red Willow County, NE? 72 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Red Willow County
In a normal year Red Willow County, NE gets 72 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 78% 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 | 156 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 72 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 25 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 7 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 72 nights of risk to 25 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 10/09, last around 05/01. For 20°F: 11/04 to 04/01.
How cold Red Willow County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 16°F; the coldest month, January, averages 15°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: 25 nights a year, and 7 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15°F | 17°F | 26°F | 35°F | 46°F | 57°F | 63°F | 61°F | 51°F | 37°F | 24°F | 16°F |
Red Willow County next to its neighbours
Frontier County, NE, 41 km north, gets 88 nights below 20°F to Red Willow County's 72 nights. Hayes County, NE, 64 km northwest, gets 70 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Willow County, NE | - | 156 nights | 72 nights | 15°F |
| Frontier County, NE | 41 km north | 166 nights | 88 nights | 13°F |
| Decatur County, KS | 43 km south | 163 nights | 78 nights | 16°F |
| Furnas County, NE | 48 km east | 165 nights | 83 nights | 13°F |
| Hitchcock County, NE | 49 km west | 158 nights | 72 nights | 15°F |
| Hayes County, NE | 64 km northwest | 157 nights | 70 nights | 15°F |
| Norton County, KS | 65 km southeast | 151 nights | 69 nights | 15°F |
Red Willow County within NE
Red Willow County ranks 61 of 93 NE counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Sioux County, NE at 114 nights, with a 11°F average winter low. The fewest is Fillmore County, NE: 55 nights, winter lows near 19°F. At 2,549 ft, Red Willow County sits 539 ft above the state's median county elevation of 2,010 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 McCook Municipal Airport, NE, 11 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. How a county figure is built from stations: how the numbers are made.