Will Pipes Freeze in Seward County, NE? 68 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Seward County
In a normal year Seward County, NE gets 68 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 76% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs November to April, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 143 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 68 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 31 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 12 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 68 nights of risk to 31 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 10/12, last around 04/26. For 20°F: 11/05 to 03/28.
How cold Seward County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 15°F; the coldest month, January, averages 12°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: 31 nights a year, and 12 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12°F | 16°F | 27°F | 38°F | 50°F | 61°F | 65°F | 62°F | 53°F | 39°F | 26°F | 16°F |
Seward County next to its neighbours
Lancaster County, NE, 39 km east, gets 70 nights below 20°F to Seward County's 68 nights. York County, NE, 38 km west, gets 64 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seward County, NE | - | 143 nights | 68 nights | 12°F |
| York County, NE | 38 km west | 141 nights | 64 nights | 14°F |
| Lancaster County, NE | 39 km east | 144 nights | 70 nights | 14°F |
| Butler County, NE | 39 km north | 147 nights | 73 nights | 12°F |
| Saline County, NE | 39 km south | 142 nights | 69 nights | 13°F |
| Polk County, NE | 50 km northwest | 144 nights | 69 nights | 13°F |
| Fillmore County, NE | 54 km southwest | 131 nights | 55 nights | 17°F |
Seward County within NE
Seward County ranks 76 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 1,480 ft, Seward County sits 529 ft below 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.
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 Seward, NE, 5 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.