Will Pipes Freeze in Beltrami County, MN? 122 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Beltrami County
In a normal year Beltrami County, MN gets 122 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 98% 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 | 187 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 122 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 83 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 52 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 122 nights of risk to 83 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 10/04, last around 05/12. For 20°F: 11/04 to 04/15.
How cold Beltrami County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 1°F; the coldest month, January, averages -3°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, November, December: 83 nights a year, and 52 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -3°F | 1°F | 15°F | 29°F | 43°F | 54°F | 60°F | 57°F | 48°F | 36°F | 21°F | 6°F |
Beltrami County next to its neighbours
Clearwater County, MN, 43 km southwest, gets 124 nights below 20°F to Beltrami County's 122 nights. Pennington County, MN, 80 km west, gets 116 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beltrami County, MN | - | 187 nights | 122 nights | -3°F |
| Clearwater County, MN | 43 km southwest | 194 nights | 124 nights | -4°F |
| Pennington County, MN | 80 km west | 184 nights | 116 nights | -3°F |
| Red Lake County, MN | 81 km west | 182 nights | 117 nights | -3°F |
| Mahnomen County, MN | 86 km southwest | 187 nights | 118 nights | -3°F |
| Hubbard County, MN | 87 km south | 185 nights | 116 nights | -2°F |
| Lake of the Woods County, MN | 99 km north | 189 nights | 122 nights | -5°F |
Beltrami County within MN
Beltrami County ranks 8 of 87 MN counties for nights below 20°F. The most is St. Louis County, MN at 130 nights, with a 0°F average winter low. The fewest is Winona County, MN: 81 nights, winter lows near 12°F. At 1,221 ft, Beltrami County sits 107 ft above the state's median county elevation of 1,114 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 Red Lake Indian Agcy, MN, 1 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.