Will Pipes Freeze in Smith County, KS? 58 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Smith County
In a normal year Smith County, KS gets 58 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 70% 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 | 136 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 58 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 21 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 5 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 58 nights of risk to 21 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 10/15, last around 04/24. For 20°F: 11/10 to 03/27.
How cold Smith County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 18°F; the coldest month, January, averages 16°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: 21 nights a year, and 5 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16°F | 19°F | 28°F | 38°F | 50°F | 61°F | 66°F | 63°F | 54°F | 41°F | 28°F | 19°F |
Smith County next to its neighbours
Franklin County, NE, 47 km north, gets 73 nights below 20°F to Smith County's 58 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Smith County, KS | - | 136 nights | 58 nights | 16°F |
| Franklin County, NE | 47 km north | 152 nights | 73 nights | 14°F |
| Phillips County, KS | 48 km west | 141 nights | 62 nights | 16°F |
| Jewell County, KS | 48 km east | 144 nights | 65 nights | 14°F |
| Osborne County, KS | 49 km south | 154 nights | 75 nights | 14°F |
| Webster County, NE | 50 km northeast | 159 nights | 83 nights | 13°F |
| Mitchell County, KS | 66 km southeast | 138 nights | 60 nights | 15°F |
Smith County within KS
Smith County ranks 32 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 1,807 ft, Smith County sits 281 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 Smith Ctr, 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.