Will Pipes Freeze in Tazewell County, VA? 43 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Tazewell County
In a normal year Tazewell County, VA gets 43 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 58% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs November to March, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 129 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 43 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 11 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 2 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 43 nights of risk to 11 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 10/18, last around 04/27. For 20°F: 11/17 to 03/18.
How cold Tazewell 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, December: 11 nights a year, and 2 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22°F | 25°F | 31°F | 38°F | 48°F | 56°F | 60°F | 59°F | 52°F | 40°F | 30°F | 26°F |
Tazewell County next to its neighbours
McDowell County, WV, 30 km north, gets 34 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tazewell County, VA | - | 129 nights | 43 nights | 22°F |
| McDowell County, WV | 30 km north | 120 nights | 34 nights | 24°F |
| Smyth County, VA | 32 km south | 126 nights | 40 nights | 23°F |
| Bland County, VA | 39 km east | 122 nights | 43 nights | 22°F |
| Buchanan County, VA | 45 km west | 119 nights | 34 nights | 24°F |
| Wythe County, VA | 49 km southeast | 130 nights | 41 nights | 24°F |
| Mercer County, WV | 51 km northeast | 121 nights | 42 nights | 23°F |
Tazewell County within VA
Tazewell County ranks 6 of 133 VA counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Highland County, VA at 62 nights, with a 20°F average winter low. The fewest is Norfolk city, VA: 4 nights, winter lows near 35°F. At 2,356 ft, Tazewell County sits 1,909 ft above the state's median county elevation of 448 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 Richlands, VA, 21 km away (fair match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. How a county figure is built from stations: how the numbers are made.