Will Pipes Freeze in Baker County, OR? 76 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Baker County
In a normal year Baker County, OR gets 76 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 80% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs October to April, worst in December.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 202 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 76 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 24 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 7 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 76 nights of risk to 24 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 09/15, last around 05/25. For 20°F: 10/21 to 04/06.
How cold Baker County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 20°F; the coldest month, January, averages 19°F overnight. 12 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, 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: 24 nights a year, and 7 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19°F | 22°F | 27°F | 31°F | 38°F | 43°F | 48°F | 46°F | 39°F | 30°F | 25°F | 19°F |
Baker County next to its neighbours
Adams County, ID, 99 km east, gets 109 nights below 20°F to Baker County's 76 nights. Union County, OR, 71 km north, gets 30 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baker County, OR | - | 202 nights | 76 nights | 19°F |
| Union County, OR | 71 km north | 137 nights | 30 nights | 25°F |
| Washington County, ID | 76 km east | 154 nights | 55 nights | 18°F |
| Adams County, ID | 99 km east | 230 nights | 109 nights | 11°F |
| Wallowa County, OR | 107 km north | 190 nights | 65 nights | 19°F |
| Grant County, OR | 107 km west | 178 nights | 53 nights | 21°F |
| Payette County, ID | 108 km southeast | 138 nights | 35 nights | 23°F |
Baker County within OR
Baker County ranks 1 of 36 OR counties for nights below 20°F. The fewest is Lincoln County, OR: under 1 night, winter lows near 40°F. At 4,103 ft, Baker County sits 2,086 ft above the state's median county elevation of 2,017 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 Baker City Municipal Airport, OR, 18 km away (fair 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.