Will Pipes Freeze in Bear Lake County, ID? 109 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Bear Lake County
In a normal year Bear Lake County, ID gets 109 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 95% 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 | 213 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 109 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 58 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 25 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 109 nights of risk to 58 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 09/03, last around 06/17. For 20°F: 10/11 to 04/21.
How cold Bear Lake County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 9°F; the coldest month, January, averages 7°F overnight. 11 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, 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: 58 nights a year, and 25 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7°F | 9°F | 19°F | 27°F | 35°F | 41°F | 47°F | 46°F | 37°F | 28°F | 19°F | 10°F |
Bear Lake County next to its neighbours
Lincoln County, WY, 53 km east, gets 148 nights below 20°F to Bear Lake County's 109 nights. Franklin County, ID, 43 km west, gets 73 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bear Lake County, ID | - | 213 nights | 109 nights | 7°F |
| Franklin County, ID | 43 km west | 173 nights | 73 nights | 15°F |
| Lincoln County, WY | 53 km east | 245 nights | 148 nights | 2°F |
| Caribou County, ID | 58 km north | 222 nights | 111 nights | 10°F |
| Cache County, UT | 70 km southwest | 155 nights | 64 nights | 16°F |
| Rich County, UT | 74 km south | 239 nights | 138 nights | 4°F |
| Bannock County, ID | 87 km northwest | 177 nights | 73 nights | 15°F |
Bear Lake County within ID
Bear Lake County ranks 7 of 44 ID counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Custer County, ID at 145 nights, with a 5°F average winter low. The fewest is Nez Perce County, ID: 20 nights, winter lows near 27°F. At 5,926 ft, Bear Lake County sits 1,279 ft above the state's median county elevation of 4,646 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 Bern, ID, 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.