Will Pipes Freeze in Big Horn County, WY? 109 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Big Horn County
In a normal year Big Horn County, WY 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 | 183 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 109 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 60 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 60 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 10/01, last around 05/04. For 20°F: 10/30 to 03/31.
How cold Big Horn County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 8°F; the coldest month, January, averages 5°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, November, December: 60 nights a year, and 25 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5°F | 11°F | 23°F | 32°F | 42°F | 51°F | 57°F | 54°F | 44°F | 32°F | 18°F | 7°F |
Big Horn County next to its neighbours
Washakie County, WY, 76 km south, gets 107 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Big Horn County, WY | - | 183 nights | 109 nights | 5°F |
| Washakie County, WY | 76 km south | 189 nights | 107 nights | 5°F |
| Sheridan County, WY | 93 km east | 185 nights | 93 nights | 13°F |
| Hot Springs County, WY | 96 km south | 186 nights | 105 nights | 9°F |
| Big Horn County, MT | 105 km north | 175 nights | 88 nights | 13°F |
| Carbon County, MT | 113 km northwest | 183 nights | 91 nights | 11°F |
| Johnson County, WY | 124 km southeast | 190 nights | 99 nights | 11°F |
Big Horn County within WY
Big Horn County ranks 6 of 23 WY counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Sublette County, WY at 165 nights, with a 1°F average winter low. The fewest is Platte County, WY: 69 nights, winter lows near 16°F. At 4,097 ft, Big Horn County sits 1,200 ft below the state's median county elevation of 5,297 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 Greybull S Big Horn Airport, WY, 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.