Will Pipes Freeze in Sherman County, KS? 69 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Sherman County
In a normal year Sherman County, KS gets 69 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 October to April, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 157 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 69 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 22 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 5 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 69 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 10/11, last around 05/02. For 20°F: 11/05 to 03/31.
How cold Sherman County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 18°F; the coldest month, January, averages 17°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: 22 nights a year, and 5 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17°F | 19°F | 27°F | 35°F | 46°F | 56°F | 62°F | 60°F | 51°F | 37°F | 26°F | 18°F |
Sherman County next to its neighbours
Cheyenne County, KS, 49 km north, gets 75 nights below 20°F to Sherman County's 69 nights. Wallace County, KS, 47 km south, gets 62 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sherman County, KS | - | 157 nights | 69 nights | 17°F |
| Wallace County, KS | 47 km south | 148 nights | 62 nights | 17°F |
| Cheyenne County, KS | 49 km north | 162 nights | 75 nights | 15°F |
| Thomas County, KS | 55 km east | 164 nights | 77 nights | 15°F |
| Logan County, KS | 69 km southeast | 153 nights | 75 nights | 16°F |
| Rawlins County, KS | 73 km northeast | 167 nights | 83 nights | 15°F |
| Kit Carson County, CO | 76 km west | 157 nights | 63 nights | 18°F |
Sherman County within KS
Sherman County ranks 11 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 3,694 ft, Sherman County sits 2,169 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.
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 Goodland, KS, 2 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.