Will Pipes Freeze in Wichita County, KS? 74 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Wichita County
In a normal year Wichita County, KS gets 74 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 79% 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 | 74 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 23 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 6 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 74 nights of risk to 23 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 10/12, last around 05/02. For 20°F: 11/06 to 04/02.
How cold Wichita County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 17°F; the coldest month, January, averages 16°F overnight. 8 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, November, December: 23 nights a year, and 6 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16°F | 18°F | 26°F | 34°F | 46°F | 57°F | 62°F | 60°F | 51°F | 37°F | 25°F | 17°F |
Wichita County next to its neighbours
Logan County, KS, 51 km north, gets 75 nights below 20°F to Wichita County's 74 nights. Scott County, KS, 38 km east, gets 71 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wichita County, KS | - | 160 nights | 74 nights | 16°F |
| Scott County, KS | 38 km east | 154 nights | 71 nights | 16°F |
| Greeley County, KS | 40 km west | 160 nights | 74 nights | 16°F |
| Logan County, KS | 51 km north | 153 nights | 75 nights | 16°F |
| Kearny County, KS | 54 km south | 140 nights | 57 nights | 19°F |
| Wallace County, KS | 62 km northwest | 148 nights | 62 nights | 17°F |
| Hamilton County, KS | 67 km southwest | 157 nights | 76 nights | 14°F |
Wichita County within KS
Wichita County ranks 8 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 3,297 ft, Wichita County sits 1,771 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 Leoti, KS, 2 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.