Will Pipes Freeze in Sioux County, NE? 114 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Sioux County
In a normal year Sioux County, NE gets 114 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 97% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs October to May, worst in December.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 202 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 114 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 53 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 21 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 114 nights of risk to 53 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 09/11, last around 05/30. For 20°F: 10/11 to 04/24.
How cold Sioux County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 11°F; the coldest month, December, averages 10°F overnight. 10 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, April, October, November, December: 53 nights a year, and 21 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11°F | 13°F | 21°F | 29°F | 39°F | 48°F | 54°F | 51°F | 41°F | 29°F | 18°F | 10°F |
Sioux County next to its neighbours
Dawes County, NE, 56 km northeast, gets 90 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sioux County, NE | - | 202 nights | 114 nights | 11°F |
| Dawes County, NE | 56 km northeast | 176 nights | 90 nights | 13°F |
| Box Butte County, NE | 61 km southeast | 168 nights | 79 nights | 15°F |
| Goshen County, WY | 66 km southwest | 188 nights | 102 nights | 13°F |
| Scotts Bluff County, NE | 69 km south | 172 nights | 83 nights | 15°F |
| Fall River County, SD | 85 km north | 182 nights | 96 nights | 12°F |
| Niobrara County, WY | 89 km northwest | 179 nights | 92 nights | 12°F |
Sioux County within NE
Sioux County ranks 1 of 93 NE counties for nights below 20°F. The fewest is Fillmore County, NE: 55 nights, winter lows near 19°F. At 4,717 ft, Sioux County sits 2,707 ft above 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 Agate (3 mi E), NE, 5 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.