Will Pipes Freeze in Shelby County, MO? 49 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Shelby County
In a normal year Shelby County, MO gets 49 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 64% 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 | 124 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 49 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 20 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 7 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 49 nights of risk to 20 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 04/21. For 20°F: 11/14 to 03/20.
How cold Shelby County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 20°F; the coldest month, January, averages 17°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: 20 nights a year, and 7 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17°F | 21°F | 31°F | 41°F | 53°F | 62°F | 66°F | 63°F | 54°F | 43°F | 32°F | 23°F |
Shelby County next to its neighbours
Monroe County, MO, 34 km south, gets 49 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelby County, MO | - | 124 nights | 49 nights | 17°F |
| Monroe County, MO | 34 km south | 123 nights | 49 nights | 18°F |
| Knox County, MO | 38 km north | 121 nights | 50 nights | 17°F |
| Marion County, MO | 39 km east | 116 nights | 45 nights | 18°F |
| Macon County, MO | 41 km west | 120 nights | 50 nights | 19°F |
| Lewis County, MO | 44 km northeast | 116 nights | 45 nights | 18°F |
| Randolph County, MO | 53 km southwest | 103 nights | 41 nights | 19°F |
Shelby County within MO
Shelby County ranks 28 of 115 MO counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Caldwell County, MO at 65 nights, with a 19°F average winter low. The fewest is Pemiscot County, MO: 14 nights, winter lows near 31°F. At 750 ft, Shelby County sits 92 ft below the state's median county elevation of 842 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 Shelbina, MO, 13 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. What a "fair" or "distant" station match means is in the method guide.