Will Pipes Freeze in Butte County, ID? 100 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Butte County
In a normal year Butte County, ID gets 100 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 92% 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 | 189 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 100 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 47 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 14 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 100 nights of risk to 47 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 09/22, last around 05/22. For 20°F: 10/28 to 04/05.
How cold Butte County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 10°F; the coldest month, January, averages 9°F overnight. 10 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, 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: 47 nights a year, and 14 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9°F | 12°F | 22°F | 29°F | 37°F | 45°F | 52°F | 50°F | 42°F | 31°F | 19°F | 10°F |
Butte County next to its neighbours
Jefferson County, ID, 70 km east, gets 107 nights below 20°F to Butte County's 100 nights. Bingham County, ID, 82 km southeast, gets 66 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Butte County, ID | - | 189 nights | 100 nights | 9°F |
| Jefferson County, ID | 70 km east | 199 nights | 107 nights | 8°F |
| Blaine County, ID | 71 km southwest | 193 nights | 101 nights | 9°F |
| Bingham County, ID | 82 km southeast | 164 nights | 66 nights | 17°F |
| Clark County, ID | 94 km northeast | 189 nights | 102 nights | 12°F |
| Minidoka County, ID | 99 km south | 160 nights | 57 nights | 19°F |
| Custer County, ID | 108 km northwest | 261 nights | 145 nights | 3°F |
Butte County within ID
Butte County ranks 15 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 6,095 ft, Butte County sits 1,448 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.
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 Arco, ID, 11 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.