Will Pipes Freeze in Scott County, KS? 71 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Scott County
In a normal year Scott County, KS gets 71 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 77% 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 | 154 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 71 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 21 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 5 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 71 nights of risk to 21 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 10/15, last around 04/30. For 20°F: 11/07 to 03/30.
How cold Scott County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 17°F; the coldest month, January, averages 16°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: 21 nights a year, and 5 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16°F | 19°F | 27°F | 35°F | 47°F | 58°F | 63°F | 61°F | 52°F | 38°F | 26°F | 18°F |
Scott County next to its neighbours
Wichita County, KS, 38 km west, gets 74 nights below 20°F to Scott County's 71 nights. Lane County, KS, 38 km east, gets 66 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott County, KS | - | 154 nights | 71 nights | 16°F |
| Lane County, KS | 38 km east | 148 nights | 66 nights | 16°F |
| Wichita County, KS | 38 km west | 160 nights | 74 nights | 16°F |
| Finney County, KS | 50 km south | 145 nights | 64 nights | 17°F |
| Logan County, KS | 53 km northwest | 153 nights | 75 nights | 16°F |
| Gove County, KS | 61 km northeast | 145 nights | 64 nights | 17°F |
| Kearny County, KS | 65 km southwest | 140 nights | 57 nights | 19°F |
Scott County within KS
Scott County ranks 10 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 2,977 ft, Scott County sits 1,451 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.
Interior pipes have a threshold too: the four freeze points.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Scott City, KS, 1 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.