Will Pipes Freeze in Sussex County, NJ? 58 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Sussex County
In a normal year Sussex County, NJ 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 71% 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 | 142 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 58 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 20 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 4 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 58 nights of risk to 20 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 10/16, last around 04/24. For 20°F: 11/24 to 03/18.
How cold Sussex County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 20°F; the coldest month, January, averages 17°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, December: 20 nights a year, and 4 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17°F | 19°F | 27°F | 37°F | 47°F | 56°F | 61°F | 59°F | 52°F | 40°F | 31°F | 24°F |
Sussex County next to its neighbours
Pike County, PA, 35 km northwest, gets 65 nights below 20°F to Sussex County's 58 nights. Morris County, NJ, 33 km south, gets 48 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sussex County, NJ | - | 142 nights | 58 nights | 17°F |
| Morris County, NJ | 33 km south | 131 nights | 48 nights | 19°F |
| Passaic County, NJ | 35 km east | 121 nights | 45 nights | 20°F |
| Pike County, PA | 35 km northwest | 150 nights | 65 nights | 15°F |
| Warren County, NJ | 41 km southwest | 134 nights | 47 nights | 19°F |
| Orange County, NY | 44 km northeast | 137 nights | 55 nights | 17°F |
| Essex County, NJ | 54 km southeast | 117 nights | 38 nights | 22°F |
Sussex County within NJ
Sussex County ranks 1 of 21 NJ counties for nights below 20°F. The fewest is Hudson County, NJ: 20 nights, winter lows near 28°F. At 614 ft, Sussex County sits 525 ft above the state's median county elevation of 89 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 Newton, NJ, 11 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.