Will Pipes Freeze in Baca County, CO? 63 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Baca County
In a normal year Baca County, CO gets 63 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 73% 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 | 149 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 63 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 16 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 3 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 63 nights of risk to 16 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 10/10, last around 05/03. For 20°F: 11/05 to 03/31.
How cold Baca County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 18°F; the coldest month, January, averages 17°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: 16 nights a year, and 3 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17°F | 20°F | 27°F | 35°F | 45°F | 56°F | 61°F | 60°F | 51°F | 37°F | 26°F | 18°F |
Baca County next to its neighbours
Prowers County, CO, 73 km north, gets 83 nights below 20°F to Baca County's 63 nights. Cimarron County, OK, 62 km south, gets 49 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baca County, CO | - | 149 nights | 63 nights | 17°F |
| Cimarron County, OK | 62 km south | 136 nights | 49 nights | 20°F |
| Morton County, KS | 66 km east | 142 nights | 54 nights | 19°F |
| Stanton County, KS | 72 km northeast | 136 nights | 50 nights | 20°F |
| Prowers County, CO | 73 km north | 162 nights | 83 nights | 14°F |
| Bent County, CO | 84 km northwest | 152 nights | 72 nights | 16°F |
| Hamilton County, KS | 101 km northeast | 157 nights | 76 nights | 14°F |
Baca County within CO
Baca County ranks 59 of 64 CO counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Summit County, CO at 177 nights, with a 5°F average winter low. The fewest is Mesa County, CO: 44 nights, winter lows near 21°F. At 4,308 ft, Baca County sits 2,572 ft below the state's median county elevation of 6,880 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 Springfield Comanche, CO, 7 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.