Will Pipes Freeze in Republic County, KS? 57 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Republic County
In a normal year Republic County, KS gets 57 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 70% 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 | 133 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 57 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 22 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 6 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 57 nights of risk to 22 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 10/17, last around 04/22. For 20°F: 11/11 to 03/24.
How cold Republic County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 18°F; the coldest month, January, averages 16°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, November, December: 22 nights a year, and 6 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16°F | 19°F | 29°F | 39°F | 51°F | 62°F | 67°F | 64°F | 55°F | 42°F | 29°F | 19°F |
Republic County next to its neighbours
Thayer County, NE, 39 km north, gets 68 nights below 20°F to Republic County's 57 nights. Cloud County, KS, 38 km south, gets 52 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republic County, KS | - | 133 nights | 57 nights | 16°F |
| Cloud County, KS | 38 km south | 128 nights | 52 nights | 18°F |
| Thayer County, NE | 39 km north | 145 nights | 68 nights | 15°F |
| Washington County, KS | 48 km east | 131 nights | 56 nights | 15°F |
| Jewell County, KS | 49 km west | 144 nights | 65 nights | 14°F |
| Nuckolls County, NE | 51 km northwest | 143 nights | 63 nights | 15°F |
| Jefferson County, NE | 58 km northeast | 144 nights | 67 nights | 14°F |
Republic County within KS
Republic County ranks 35 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 1,519 ft, Republic County sits close to 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 Belleville, KS, 2 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.