Will Pipes Freeze in Carbon County, PA? 65 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Carbon County
In a normal year Carbon County, PA gets 65 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 74% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs November 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 | 65 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 27 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 7 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 65 nights of risk to 27 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 10/06, last around 05/07. For 20°F: 11/14 to 04/01.
How cold Carbon County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 19°F; the coldest month, January, averages 17°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: 27 nights a year, and 7 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17°F | 18°F | 25°F | 36°F | 46°F | 55°F | 59°F | 57°F | 50°F | 39°F | 30°F | 23°F |
Carbon County next to its neighbours
Monroe County, PA, 35 km northeast, gets 59 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon County, PA | - | 152 nights | 65 nights | 17°F |
| Monroe County, PA | 35 km northeast | 146 nights | 59 nights | 17°F |
| Lehigh County, PA | 35 km south | 127 nights | 44 nights | 20°F |
| Luzerne County, PA | 36 km northwest | 142 nights | 61 nights | 18°F |
| Northampton County, PA | 38 km southeast | 122 nights | 39 nights | 21°F |
| Schuylkill County, PA | 49 km southwest | 129 nights | 47 nights | 19°F |
| Lackawanna County, PA | 58 km north | 132 nights | 52 nights | 19°F |
Carbon County within PA
Carbon County ranks 13 of 67 PA counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Susquehanna County, PA at 80 nights, with a 15°F average winter low. The fewest is Delaware County, PA: 15 nights, winter lows near 28°F. At 1,443 ft, Carbon County sits 302 ft above the state's median county elevation of 1,141 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.
Interior pipes have a threshold too: the four freeze points.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Francis E Walter Dam, PA, 22 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. Why elevation is part of the blend: how county numbers are made.