Will Pipes Freeze in Adams County, ND? 118 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Adams County
In a normal year Adams County, ND gets 118 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 97% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs October to May, worst in December.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 199 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 118 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 65 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 34 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 118 nights of risk to 65 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 09/18, last around 05/24. For 20°F: 10/15 to 04/23.
How cold Adams County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 7°F; the coldest month, January, averages 5°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, April, October, November, December: 65 nights a year, and 34 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5°F | 8°F | 18°F | 28°F | 39°F | 49°F | 55°F | 52°F | 43°F | 30°F | 17°F | 9°F |
Adams County next to its neighbours
Hettinger County, ND, 38 km north, gets 115 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adams County, ND | - | 199 nights | 118 nights | 5°F |
| Hettinger County, ND | 38 km north | 194 nights | 115 nights | 4°F |
| Perkins County, SD | 68 km south | 173 nights | 93 nights | 9°F |
| Grant County, ND | 75 km northeast | 188 nights | 113 nights | 4°F |
| Bowman County, ND | 75 km west | 189 nights | 106 nights | 7°F |
| Stark County, ND | 81 km north | 192 nights | 112 nights | 5°F |
| Slope County, ND | 81 km northwest | 182 nights | 100 nights | 7°F |
Adams County within ND
Adams County ranks 24 of 53 ND counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Rolette County, ND at 137 nights, with a -3°F average winter low. The fewest is Slope County, ND: 100 nights, winter lows near 10°F. At 2,667 ft, Adams County sits 934 ft above the state's median county elevation of 1,733 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 Hettinger Municipal Airport, ND, 13 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.