Will Pipes Freeze in Wells County, IN? 50 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Wells County
In a normal year Wells County, IN gets 50 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 64% 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 | 125 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 50 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 20 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 6 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 50 nights of risk to 20 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 10/20, last around 04/24. For 20°F: 11/25 to 03/22.
How cold Wells County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 20°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, December: 20 nights a year, and 6 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17°F | 20°F | 28°F | 39°F | 51°F | 61°F | 63°F | 61°F | 54°F | 43°F | 32°F | 23°F |
Wells County next to its neighbours
Huntington County, IN, 25 km northwest, gets 53 nights below 20°F to Wells County's 50 nights. Adams County, IN, 23 km east, gets 46 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wells County, IN | - | 125 nights | 50 nights | 17°F |
| Adams County, IN | 23 km east | 124 nights | 46 nights | 18°F |
| Huntington County, IN | 25 km northwest | 132 nights | 53 nights | 17°F |
| Blackford County, IN | 31 km south | 117 nights | 46 nights | 19°F |
| Jay County, IN | 38 km southeast | 132 nights | 52 nights | 17°F |
| Allen County, IN | 41 km north | 128 nights | 48 nights | 18°F |
| Grant County, IN | 45 km southwest | 126 nights | 48 nights | 18°F |
Wells County within IN
Wells County ranks 29 of 92 IN counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Steuben County, IN at 63 nights, with a 19°F average winter low. The fewest is Floyd County, IN: 19 nights, winter lows near 29°F. At 834 ft, Wells County sits 75 ft above the state's median county elevation of 759 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.
At this many nights, foam alone is not the answer: insulate or heat tape?.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Bluffton (6 mi N), IN, 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.