Will Pipes Freeze in Turner County, SD? 88 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Turner County
In a normal year Turner County, SD gets 88 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 87% 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 | 160 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 88 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 49 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 23 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 88 nights of risk to 49 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 10/04, last around 05/01. For 20°F: 11/01 to 04/02.
How cold Turner County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 11°F; the coldest month, January, averages 8°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: 49 nights a year, and 23 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8°F | 12°F | 24°F | 35°F | 48°F | 59°F | 63°F | 60°F | 51°F | 37°F | 24°F | 13°F |
Turner County next to its neighbours
Lincoln County, SD, 35 km east, gets 89 nights below 20°F to Turner County's 88 nights. Yankton County, SD, 39 km southwest, gets 84 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turner County, SD | - | 160 nights | 88 nights | 8°F |
| Lincoln County, SD | 35 km east | 160 nights | 89 nights | 6°F |
| Yankton County, SD | 39 km southwest | 156 nights | 84 nights | 10°F |
| McCook County, SD | 45 km north | 167 nights | 99 nights | 6°F |
| Clay County, SD | 46 km south | 159 nights | 86 nights | 9°F |
| Hutchinson County, SD | 49 km west | 157 nights | 85 nights | 9°F |
| Minnehaha County, SD | 49 km northeast | 159 nights | 89 nights | 8°F |
Turner County within SD
Turner County ranks 48 of 66 SD counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Codington County, SD at 113 nights, with a 6°F average winter low. The fewest is Tripp County, SD: 75 nights, winter lows near 15°F. At 1,320 ft, Turner County sits 466 ft below the state's median county elevation of 1,785 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 Menno, SD, 35 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.