Will Pipes Freeze in Cheshire County, NH? 77 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Cheshire County
In a normal year Cheshire County, NH gets 77 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 81% 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 | 169 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 77 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 37 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 14 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 77 nights of risk to 37 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 05/14. For 20°F: 11/05 to 04/06.
How cold Cheshire County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 14°F; the coldest month, January, averages 11°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: 37 nights a year, and 14 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11°F | 12°F | 20°F | 31°F | 42°F | 52°F | 57°F | 55°F | 48°F | 37°F | 28°F | 18°F |
Cheshire County next to its neighbours
Sullivan County, NH, 48 km north, gets 94 nights below 20°F to Cheshire County's 77 nights. Windham County, VT, 39 km west, gets 77 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheshire County, NH | - | 169 nights | 77 nights | 11°F |
| Windham County, VT | 39 km west | 167 nights | 77 nights | 10°F |
| Hillsborough County, NH | 43 km east | 161 nights | 72 nights | 14°F |
| Franklin County, MA | 47 km southwest | 154 nights | 66 nights | 14°F |
| Sullivan County, NH | 48 km north | 185 nights | 94 nights | 9°F |
| Merrimack County, NH | 62 km northeast | 172 nights | 80 nights | 12°F |
| Bennington County, VT | 71 km west | 168 nights | 81 nights | 10°F |
Cheshire County within NH
Cheshire County ranks 6 of 10 NH counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Coos County, NH at 110 nights, with a 6°F average winter low. The fewest is Strafford County, NH: 63 nights, winter lows near 18°F. At 775 ft, Cheshire County sits 63 ft above the state's median county elevation of 712 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 Keene, NH, 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.