Will Pipes Freeze in Bailey County, TX? 43 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Bailey County
In a normal year Bailey County, TX gets 43 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 58% 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 | 43 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 6 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | under 1 night |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 43 nights of risk to 6 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 10/21, last around 04/22. For 20°F: 11/15 to 03/14.
How cold Bailey County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 22°F; the coldest month, January, averages 21°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, December: 6 nights a year, and under 1 night below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21°F | 24°F | 31°F | 38°F | 49°F | 59°F | 62°F | 61°F | 53°F | 41°F | 29°F | 22°F |
Bailey County next to its neighbours
Lamb County, TX, 44 km east, gets 29 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bailey County, TX | - | 125 nights | 43 nights | 21°F |
| Lamb County, TX | 44 km east | 112 nights | 29 nights | 24°F |
| Cochran County, TX | 51 km south | 106 nights | 27 nights | 24°F |
| Parmer County, TX | 52 km north | 118 nights | 35 nights | 23°F |
| Roosevelt County, NM | 60 km west | 109 nights | 32 nights | 24°F |
| Hockley County, TX | 68 km southeast | 99 nights | 20 nights | 25°F |
| Curry County, NM | 73 km northwest | 112 nights | 30 nights | 23°F |
Bailey County within TX
Bailey County ranks 8 of 254 TX counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Lipscomb County, TX at 57 nights, with a 20°F average winter low. The fewest is Cameron County, TX: none, winter lows near 54°F. At 3,903 ft, Bailey County sits 2,910 ft above the state's median county elevation of 992 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 Muleshoe (19 mi S), TX, 14 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.