Will Pipes Freeze in Cass County, ND? 116 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Cass County
In a normal year Cass County, ND gets 116 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 97% 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 | 182 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 116 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 77 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 46 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 116 nights of risk to 77 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 10/01, last around 05/09. For 20°F: 10/31 to 04/08.
How cold Cass County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 3°F; the coldest month, January, averages -1°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, November, December: 77 nights a year, and 46 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -1°F | 2°F | 17°F | 31°F | 43°F | 55°F | 59°F | 56°F | 47°F | 34°F | 20°F | 7°F |
Cass County next to its neighbours
Barnes County, ND, 62 km west, gets 121 nights below 20°F to Cass County's 116 nights. Clay County, MN, 58 km east, gets 110 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cass County, ND | - | 182 nights | 116 nights | -1°F |
| Clay County, MN | 58 km east | 175 nights | 110 nights | -1°F |
| Traill County, ND | 58 km north | 177 nights | 112 nights | 0°F |
| Ransom County, ND | 61 km southwest | 182 nights | 111 nights | 0°F |
| Barnes County, ND | 62 km west | 191 nights | 121 nights | -2°F |
| Steele County, ND | 68 km northwest | 187 nights | 119 nights | -4°F |
| Norman County, MN | 75 km northeast | 180 nights | 113 nights | -4°F |
Cass County within ND
Cass County ranks 28 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 947 ft, Cass County sits 787 ft below 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 Casselton Agronomy Farm, ND, 6 km away (close 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.