Will Pipes Freeze in Burke County, ND? 131 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Burke County
In a normal year Burke County, ND gets 131 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 99% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs October to May, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 203 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 131 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 131 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 09/17, last around 05/18. For 20°F: 10/13 to 04/21.
How cold Burke County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 1°F; the coldest month, January, averages -2°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, October, November, December: 83 nights a year, and 52 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -2°F | 1°F | 14°F | 27°F | 39°F | 50°F | 54°F | 51°F | 41°F | 28°F | 15°F | 3°F |
Burke County next to its neighbours
Renville County, ND, 64 km east, gets 125 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burke County, ND | - | 203 nights | 131 nights | -2°F |
| Renville County, ND | 64 km east | 196 nights | 125 nights | -1°F |
| Mountrail County, ND | 65 km south | 202 nights | 127 nights | 0°F |
| Divide County, ND | 73 km west | 196 nights | 126 nights | -1°F |
| Williams County, ND | 87 km southwest | 187 nights | 113 nights | 2°F |
| Ward County, ND | 96 km southeast | 184 nights | 113 nights | 2°F |
| Bottineau County, ND | 124 km east | 194 nights | 127 nights | -3°F |
Burke County within ND
Burke County ranks 4 of 53 ND counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Rolette County, ND at 137 nights, with a -3°F average winter low. The fewest is Slope County, ND: 100 nights, winter lows near 10°F. At 2,037 ft, Burke County sits 304 ft above the state's median county elevation of 1,733 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 Powers Lake (1 mi N), ND, 26 km away (fair 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.