Will Pipes Freeze in Sullivan County, PA? 69 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Sullivan County
In a normal year Sullivan County, PA 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 November to April, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 150 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 69 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 28 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 7 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 69 nights of risk to 28 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 10/07, last around 05/06. For 20°F: 11/14 to 04/05.
How cold Sullivan County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 16°F; the coldest month, January, averages 14°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: 28 nights a year, and 7 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14°F | 15°F | 22°F | 33°F | 44°F | 54°F | 58°F | 56°F | 49°F | 38°F | 29°F | 20°F |
Sullivan County next to its neighbours
Bradford County, PA, 39 km north, gets 61 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sullivan County, PA | - | 150 nights | 69 nights | 14°F |
| Bradford County, PA | 39 km north | 147 nights | 61 nights | 17°F |
| Wyoming County, PA | 43 km east | 156 nights | 69 nights | 15°F |
| Columbia County, PA | 45 km south | 136 nights | 53 nights | 18°F |
| Lycoming County, PA | 47 km west | 131 nights | 50 nights | 19°F |
| Montour County, PA | 47 km south | 132 nights | 47 nights | 19°F |
| Luzerne County, PA | 54 km southeast | 142 nights | 61 nights | 18°F |
Sullivan County within PA
Sullivan County ranks 10 of 67 PA counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Susquehanna County, PA at 80 nights, with a 15°F average winter low. The fewest is Delaware County, PA: 15 nights, winter lows near 28°F. At 1,864 ft, Sullivan County sits 723 ft above the state's median county elevation of 1,141 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.
At this many nights, foam alone is not the answer: insulate or heat tape?.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Laporte, PA, 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.