Will Pipes Freeze in Cascade County, MT? 69 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Cascade County
In a normal year Cascade County, MT gets 69 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 76% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs October to April, worst in December.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 158 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 69 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 36 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 19 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 69 nights of risk to 36 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 09/28, last around 05/12. For 20°F: 10/28 to 04/08.
How cold Cascade County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 17°F; the coldest month, January, averages 16°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: 36 nights a year, and 19 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16°F | 17°F | 24°F | 31°F | 40°F | 48°F | 53°F | 52°F | 44°F | 34°F | 25°F | 18°F |
Cascade County next to its neighbours
Lewis and Clark County, MT, 81 km west, gets 80 nights below 20°F to Cascade County's 69 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cascade County, MT | - | 158 nights | 69 nights | 16°F |
| Lewis and Clark County, MT | 81 km west | 189 nights | 80 nights | 15°F |
| Judith Basin County, MT | 85 km east | 196 nights | 90 nights | 15°F |
| Meagher County, MT | 88 km south | 204 nights | 95 nights | 13°F |
| Teton County, MT | 89 km northwest | 177 nights | 83 nights | 13°F |
| Chouteau County, MT | 93 km northeast | 182 nights | 97 nights | 8°F |
| Broadwater County, MT | 110 km south | 174 nights | 83 nights | 14°F |
Cascade County within MT
Cascade County ranks 51 of 56 MT counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Sheridan County, MT at 129 nights, with a 2°F average winter low. The fewest is Lake County, MT: 40 nights, winter lows near 22°F. At 4,070 ft, Cascade County sits 148 ft above the state's median county elevation of 3,922 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 Great Falls Weather Office, MT, 16 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.