Will Pipes Freeze in Seneca County, NY? 58 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Seneca County
In a normal year Seneca County, NY gets 58 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 November to March, 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 | 58 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 58 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 10/21, last around 05/01. For 20°F: 11/26 to 03/31.
How cold Seneca County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 19°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, December: 22 nights a year, and 6 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16°F | 17°F | 24°F | 35°F | 47°F | 56°F | 61°F | 59°F | 52°F | 42°F | 32°F | 24°F |
Seneca County next to its neighbours
Cayuga County, NY, 32 km northeast, gets 62 nights below 20°F to Seneca County's 58 nights. Yates County, NY, 28 km southwest, gets 56 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seneca County, NY | - | 133 nights | 58 nights | 16°F |
| Yates County, NY | 28 km southwest | 133 nights | 56 nights | 17°F |
| Cayuga County, NY | 32 km northeast | 141 nights | 62 nights | 16°F |
| Ontario County, NY | 40 km west | 131 nights | 56 nights | 17°F |
| Schuyler County, NY | 41 km south | 153 nights | 70 nights | 15°F |
| Tompkins County, NY | 47 km southeast | 149 nights | 66 nights | 14°F |
| Wayne County, NY | 52 km north | 133 nights | 54 nights | 16°F |
Seneca County within NY
Seneca County ranks 44 of 62 NY counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Franklin County, NY at 107 nights, with a 7°F average winter low. The fewest is Bronx County, NY: 16 nights, winter lows near 30°F. At 666 ft, Seneca County sits 222 ft below the state's median county elevation of 888 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 Aurora Rsch Farm, NY, 15 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.