Will Pipes Freeze in Thomas County, NE? 91 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Thomas County
In a normal year Thomas County, NE gets 91 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 88% 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 | 173 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 91 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 41 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 16 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 91 nights of risk to 41 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 10/02, last around 05/09. For 20°F: 10/27 to 04/10.
How cold Thomas County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 13°F; the coldest month, January, averages 12°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, November, December: 41 nights a year, and 16 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12°F | 14°F | 23°F | 33°F | 44°F | 55°F | 60°F | 58°F | 48°F | 34°F | 22°F | 14°F |
Thomas County next to its neighbours
Logan County, NE, 36 km south, gets 89 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thomas County, NE | - | 173 nights | 91 nights | 12°F |
| Logan County, NE | 36 km south | 172 nights | 89 nights | 13°F |
| Blaine County, NE | 45 km east | 169 nights | 88 nights | 13°F |
| Hooker County, NE | 50 km west | 164 nights | 79 nights | 15°F |
| McPherson County, NE | 55 km southwest | 169 nights | 83 nights | 14°F |
| Brown County, NE | 75 km northeast | 158 nights | 78 nights | 14°F |
| Loup County, NE | 84 km east | 170 nights | 91 nights | 10°F |
Thomas County within NE
Thomas County ranks 3 of 93 NE counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Sioux County, NE at 114 nights, with a 11°F average winter low. The fewest is Fillmore County, NE: 55 nights, winter lows near 19°F. At 2,930 ft, Thomas County sits 921 ft above the state's median county elevation of 2,010 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 Purdum, NE, 33 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.