Will Pipes Freeze in Carter County, MO? 40 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Carter County
In a normal year Carter County, MO gets 40 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 56% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs November to March, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 115 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 40 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 10 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 2 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 40 nights of risk to 10 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 10/26, last around 04/09. For 20°F: 11/29 to 03/04.
How cold Carter County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 24°F; the coldest month, January, averages 22°F overnight. 7 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, December: 10 nights a year, and 2 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22°F | 26°F | 33°F | 43°F | 53°F | 62°F | 66°F | 64°F | 56°F | 43°F | 33°F | 26°F |
Carter County next to its neighbours
Shannon County, MO, 46 km northwest, gets 49 nights below 20°F to Carter County's 40 nights. Ripley County, MO, 33 km south, gets 36 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carter County, MO | - | 115 nights | 40 nights | 22°F |
| Ripley County, MO | 33 km south | 105 nights | 36 nights | 25°F |
| Shannon County, MO | 46 km northwest | 123 nights | 49 nights | 21°F |
| Reynolds County, MO | 47 km north | 118 nights | 46 nights | 22°F |
| Wayne County, MO | 47 km northeast | 96 nights | 28 nights | 24°F |
| Oregon County, MO | 50 km southwest | 110 nights | 42 nights | 22°F |
| Butler County, MO | 55 km southeast | 83 nights | 19 nights | 26°F |
Carter County within MO
Carter County ranks 55 of 115 MO counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Caldwell County, MO at 65 nights, with a 19°F average winter low. The fewest is Pemiscot County, MO: 14 nights, winter lows near 31°F. At 771 ft, Carter County sits 71 ft below the state's median county elevation of 842 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 Clearwater Dam, MO, 26 km away (fair match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. What a "fair" or "distant" station match means is in the method guide.