Will Pipes Freeze in Sheridan County, KS? 65 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Sheridan County
In a normal year Sheridan County, KS gets 65 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 74% 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 | 148 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 65 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 23 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 6 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 65 nights of risk to 23 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 10/20, last around 04/20. For 20°F: 11/14 to 03/23.
How cold Sheridan County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 20°F; the coldest month, January, averages 19°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: 23 nights a year, and 6 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19°F | 21°F | 29°F | 39°F | 50°F | 61°F | 66°F | 64°F | 55°F | 41°F | 30°F | 21°F |
Sheridan County next to its neighbours
Decatur County, KS, 48 km north, gets 78 nights below 20°F to Sheridan County's 65 nights. Gove County, KS, 48 km south, gets 64 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheridan County, KS | - | 148 nights | 65 nights | 19°F |
| Decatur County, KS | 48 km north | 163 nights | 78 nights | 16°F |
| Graham County, KS | 48 km east | 150 nights | 68 nights | 17°F |
| Gove County, KS | 48 km south | 145 nights | 64 nights | 17°F |
| Thomas County, KS | 55 km west | 164 nights | 77 nights | 15°F |
| Norton County, KS | 67 km northeast | 151 nights | 69 nights | 15°F |
| Trego County, KS | 69 km southeast | 136 nights | 56 nights | 17°F |
Sheridan County within KS
Sheridan County ranks 17 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 2,696 ft, Sheridan County sits 1,170 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.
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 Hoxie, KS, 1 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.