Will Pipes Freeze in Sedgwick County, CO? 74 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Sedgwick County
In a normal year Sedgwick County, CO gets 74 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 79% 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 | 161 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 74 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 27 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 9 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 74 nights of risk to 27 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 10/07, last around 05/06. For 20°F: 10/31 to 04/05.
How cold Sedgwick 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: 27 nights a year, and 9 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15°F | 17°F | 25°F | 33°F | 44°F | 54°F | 61°F | 58°F | 49°F | 35°F | 24°F | 16°F |
Sedgwick County next to its neighbours
Deuel County, NE, 27 km north, gets 82 nights below 20°F to Sedgwick County's 74 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sedgwick County, CO | - | 161 nights | 74 nights | 15°F |
| Deuel County, NE | 27 km north | 167 nights | 82 nights | 14°F |
| Phillips County, CO | 31 km south | 170 nights | 81 nights | 13°F |
| Perkins County, NE | 61 km east | 166 nights | 79 nights | 14°F |
| Logan County, CO | 64 km west | 168 nights | 77 nights | 15°F |
| Cheyenne County, NE | 67 km northwest | 170 nights | 80 nights | 17°F |
| Chase County, NE | 67 km southeast | 167 nights | 81 nights | 13°F |
Sedgwick County within CO
Sedgwick County ranks 48 of 64 CO counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Summit County, CO at 177 nights, with a 5°F average winter low. The fewest is Mesa County, CO: 44 nights, winter lows near 21°F. At 3,854 ft, Sedgwick County sits 3,026 ft below the state's median county elevation of 6,880 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 Sedgwick (5 mi S), CO, 14 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. Why elevation is part of the blend: how county numbers are made.