Will Pipes Freeze in Sioux County, ND? 108 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Sioux County
In a normal year Sioux County, ND gets 108 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 95% 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 | 183 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 108 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 62 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 34 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 108 nights of risk to 62 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 09/30, last around 05/09. For 20°F: 10/27 to 04/08.
How cold Sioux County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 7°F; the coldest month, January, averages 5°F overnight. 9 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, April, November, December: 62 nights a year, and 34 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5°F | 8°F | 20°F | 31°F | 43°F | 53°F | 58°F | 56°F | 46°F | 33°F | 20°F | 9°F |
Sioux County next to its neighbours
Grant County, ND, 52 km northwest, gets 113 nights below 20°F to Sioux County's 108 nights. Corson County, SD, 48 km south, gets 101 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sioux County, ND | - | 183 nights | 108 nights | 5°F |
| Corson County, SD | 48 km south | 177 nights | 101 nights | 6°F |
| Grant County, ND | 52 km northwest | 188 nights | 113 nights | 4°F |
| Emmons County, ND | 66 km east | 186 nights | 112 nights | 1°F |
| Morton County, ND | 69 km north | 191 nights | 116 nights | 3°F |
| Campbell County, SD | 90 km southeast | 178 nights | 107 nights | 3°F |
| Burleigh County, ND | 107 km northeast | 183 nights | 111 nights | 3°F |
Sioux County within ND
Sioux County ranks 49 of 53 ND counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Rolette County, ND at 137 nights, with a -3°F average winter low. The fewest is Slope County, ND: 100 nights, winter lows near 10°F. At 2,200 ft, Sioux County sits 467 ft above the state's median county elevation of 1,733 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 Mc Intosh (6 mi SE), SD, 35 km away (fair 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.