Will Pipes Freeze in Swain County, NC? 49 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Swain County
In a normal year Swain County, NC gets 49 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 63% 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 | 121 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 49 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 16 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 4 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 49 nights of risk to 16 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 05/03. For 20°F: 11/11 to 04/02.
How cold Swain County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 24°F; the coldest month, January, averages 22°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: 16 nights a year, and 4 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22°F | 24°F | 29°F | 38°F | 46°F | 54°F | 57°F | 56°F | 51°F | 41°F | 32°F | 26°F |
Swain County next to its neighbours
Sevier County, TN, 25 km north, gets 21 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swain County, NC | - | 121 nights | 49 nights | 22°F |
| Sevier County, TN | 25 km north | 97 nights | 21 nights | 27°F |
| Graham County, NC | 41 km southwest | 100 nights | 24 nights | 26°F |
| Blount County, TN | 43 km west | 75 nights | 13 nights | 29°F |
| Haywood County, NC | 44 km east | 123 nights | 38 nights | 24°F |
| Jackson County, NC | 44 km southeast | 105 nights | 26 nights | 25°F |
| Macon County, NC | 46 km south | 107 nights | 28 nights | 26°F |
Swain County within NC
Swain County ranks 1 of 100 NC counties for nights below 20°F. The fewest is Carteret County, NC: 3 nights, winter lows near 39°F. At 4,455 ft, Swain County sits 3,982 ft above the state's median county elevation of 473 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 Newfound Gap, TN, 6 km away (fair 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.