Will Pipes Freeze in Yankton County, SD? 84 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Yankton County
In a normal year Yankton County, SD gets 84 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 84% 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 | 156 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 84 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 44 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 20 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 84 nights of risk to 44 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 10/11, last around 04/27. For 20°F: 11/07 to 03/31.
How cold Yankton County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 13°F; the coldest month, January, averages 10°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: 44 nights a year, and 20 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10°F | 14°F | 25°F | 36°F | 48°F | 59°F | 64°F | 61°F | 52°F | 39°F | 25°F | 15°F |
Yankton County next to its neighbours
Clay County, SD, 35 km east, gets 86 nights below 20°F to Yankton County's 84 nights. Cedar County, NE, 46 km south, gets 80 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yankton County, SD | - | 156 nights | 84 nights | 10°F |
| Clay County, SD | 35 km east | 159 nights | 86 nights | 9°F |
| Turner County, SD | 39 km northeast | 160 nights | 88 nights | 8°F |
| Bon Homme County, SD | 40 km west | 157 nights | 84 nights | 9°F |
| Cedar County, NE | 46 km south | 154 nights | 80 nights | 10°F |
| Hutchinson County, SD | 47 km northwest | 157 nights | 85 nights | 9°F |
| Knox County, NE | 58 km southwest | 154 nights | 79 nights | 11°F |
Yankton County within SD
Yankton County ranks 59 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 1,317 ft, Yankton County sits 468 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 Yankton (2 mi E), SD, 14 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.