Will Pipes Freeze in Bent County, CO? 72 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Bent County
In a normal year Bent County, CO gets 72 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 78% 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 | 152 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 72 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 21 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 5 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 72 nights of risk to 21 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 10/12, last around 04/29. For 20°F: 11/06 to 03/23.
How cold Bent County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 17°F; the coldest month, January, averages 16°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: 21 nights a year, and 5 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16°F | 20°F | 28°F | 37°F | 48°F | 58°F | 63°F | 61°F | 52°F | 38°F | 26°F | 17°F |
Bent County next to its neighbours
Otero County, CO, 57 km west, gets 92 nights below 20°F to Bent County's 72 nights. Baca County, CO, 84 km southeast, gets 63 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bent County, CO | - | 152 nights | 72 nights | 16°F |
| Otero County, CO | 57 km west | 171 nights | 92 nights | 14°F |
| Kiowa County, CO | 58 km northeast | 155 nights | 73 nights | 16°F |
| Prowers County, CO | 60 km east | 162 nights | 83 nights | 14°F |
| Crowley County, CO | 74 km northwest | 171 nights | 94 nights | 13°F |
| Baca County, CO | 84 km southeast | 149 nights | 63 nights | 17°F |
| Cheyenne County, CO | 109 km north | 173 nights | 95 nights | 13°F |
Bent County within CO
Bent County ranks 53 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 4,076 ft, Bent County sits 2,804 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.
At this many nights, foam alone is not the answer: insulate or heat tape?.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Las Animas, CO, 19 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.