Will Pipes Freeze in Tucker County, WV? 70 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Tucker County
In a normal year Tucker County, WV gets 70 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 77% 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 | 149 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 70 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 27 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 8 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 70 nights of risk to 27 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 05/15. For 20°F: 11/05 to 04/05.
How cold Tucker 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, November, December: 27 nights a year, and 8 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17°F | 19°F | 26°F | 35°F | 45°F | 52°F | 56°F | 55°F | 48°F | 38°F | 29°F | 22°F |
Tucker County next to its neighbours
Grant County, WV, 31 km east, gets 50 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tucker County, WV | - | 149 nights | 70 nights | 17°F |
| Grant County, WV | 31 km east | 139 nights | 50 nights | 21°F |
| Barbour County, WV | 38 km west | 141 nights | 53 nights | 20°F |
| Preston County, WV | 41 km north | 137 nights | 49 nights | 19°F |
| Randolph County, WV | 45 km southwest | 153 nights | 67 nights | 18°F |
| Taylor County, WV | 49 km northwest | 123 nights | 40 nights | 22°F |
| Pendleton County, WV | 52 km south | 127 nights | 44 nights | 21°F |
Tucker County within WV
Tucker County ranks 1 of 55 WV counties for nights below 20°F. The fewest is Mingo County, WV: 25 nights, winter lows near 28°F. At 3,146 ft, Tucker County sits 1,933 ft above the state's median county elevation of 1,213 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 Canaan Valley #2, WV, 13 km away (close 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.