Will Pipes Freeze in Trego County, KS? 56 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Trego County
In a normal year Trego County, KS gets 56 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 69% 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 | 136 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 56 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 18 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 4 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 56 nights of risk to 18 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 04/23. For 20°F: 11/13 to 03/24.
How cold Trego County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 19°F; the coldest month, January, averages 17°F overnight. 7 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, November, December: 18 nights a year, and 4 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17°F | 20°F | 29°F | 38°F | 49°F | 60°F | 66°F | 63°F | 54°F | 40°F | 28°F | 20°F |
Trego County next to its neighbours
Graham County, KS, 48 km north, gets 68 nights below 20°F to Trego County's 56 nights. Ellis County, KS, 47 km east, gets 52 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trego County, KS | - | 136 nights | 56 nights | 17°F |
| Ellis County, KS | 47 km east | 131 nights | 52 nights | 18°F |
| Graham County, KS | 48 km north | 150 nights | 68 nights | 17°F |
| Ness County, KS | 49 km south | 149 nights | 68 nights | 16°F |
| Gove County, KS | 54 km west | 145 nights | 64 nights | 17°F |
| Rush County, KS | 65 km southeast | 144 nights | 64 nights | 16°F |
| Rooks County, KS | 66 km northeast | 147 nights | 63 nights | 16°F |
Trego County within KS
Trego County ranks 36 of 105 KS counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Rawlins County, KS at 83 nights, with a 16°F average winter low. The fewest is Cherokee County, KS: 27 nights, winter lows near 26°F. At 2,440 ft, Trego County sits 914 ft above the state's median county elevation of 1,526 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 Wakeeney, KS, 10 km away (close 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.