Will Pipes Freeze in Cavalier County, ND? 134 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Cavalier County
In a normal year Cavalier County, ND gets 134 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 99% 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 | 200 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 134 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 93 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 62 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 134 nights of risk to 93 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 09/26, last around 05/17. For 20°F: 10/24 to 04/18.
How cold Cavalier County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: -2°F; the coldest month, January, averages -5°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: 93 nights a year, and 62 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -5°F | -2°F | 12°F | 28°F | 40°F | 52°F | 56°F | 54°F | 44°F | 31°F | 16°F | 2°F |
Cavalier County next to its neighbours
Rolette County, ND, 101 km west, gets 137 nights below 20°F to Cavalier County's 134 nights. Towner County, ND, 58 km west, gets 133 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cavalier County, ND | - | 200 nights | 134 nights | -5°F |
| Towner County, ND | 58 km west | 201 nights | 133 nights | -5°F |
| Ramsey County, ND | 59 km south | 190 nights | 124 nights | -3°F |
| Pembina County, ND | 67 km east | 189 nights | 123 nights | -4°F |
| Walsh County, ND | 70 km southeast | 176 nights | 113 nights | -1°F |
| Nelson County, ND | 96 km south | 191 nights | 126 nights | -4°F |
| Rolette County, ND | 101 km west | 205 nights | 137 nights | -6°F |
Cavalier County within ND
Cavalier County ranks 2 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 1,589 ft, Cavalier County sits 144 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.
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 Langdon Experiment Farm, ND, 9 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.