Will Pipes Freeze in Spink County, SD? 109 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Spink County
In a normal year Spink County, SD gets 109 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 | 180 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 109 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 66 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 38 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 109 nights of risk to 66 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 10/01, last around 05/08. For 20°F: 10/28 to 04/10.
How cold Spink County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 6°F; the coldest month, January, averages 3°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: 66 nights a year, and 38 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3°F | 7°F | 20°F | 31°F | 44°F | 56°F | 60°F | 57°F | 48°F | 34°F | 20°F | 9°F |
Spink County next to its neighbours
Brown County, SD, 74 km north, gets 112 nights below 20°F to Spink County's 109 nights. Clark County, SD, 49 km east, gets 107 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spink County, SD | - | 180 nights | 109 nights | 3°F |
| Clark County, SD | 49 km east | 175 nights | 107 nights | 3°F |
| Beadle County, SD | 56 km south | 167 nights | 96 nights | 6°F |
| Faulk County, SD | 66 km west | 172 nights | 101 nights | 4°F |
| Hand County, SD | 67 km southwest | 172 nights | 98 nights | 7°F |
| Brown County, SD | 74 km north | 179 nights | 112 nights | 1°F |
| Day County, SD | 76 km northeast | 167 nights | 105 nights | 3°F |
Spink County within SD
Spink County ranks 7 of 66 SD counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Codington County, SD at 113 nights, with a 6°F average winter low. The fewest is Tripp County, SD: 75 nights, winter lows near 15°F. At 1,297 ft, Spink County sits 489 ft below the state's median county elevation of 1,785 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 Redfield, SD, 16 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.