Will Pipes Freeze in Cheyenne County, CO? 95 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Cheyenne County
In a normal year Cheyenne County, CO gets 95 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 90% 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 | 173 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 95 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 32 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 8 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 95 nights of risk to 32 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 10/06, last around 05/07. For 20°F: 11/01 to 04/05.
How cold Cheyenne County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 14°F; the coldest month, January, averages 13°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: 32 nights a year, and 8 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13°F | 16°F | 24°F | 32°F | 44°F | 54°F | 60°F | 58°F | 48°F | 34°F | 22°F | 14°F |
Cheyenne County next to its neighbours
Lincoln County, CO, 80 km west, gets 99 nights below 20°F to Cheyenne County's 95 nights. Kiowa County, CO, 52 km south, gets 73 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheyenne County, CO | - | 173 nights | 95 nights | 13°F |
| Kiowa County, CO | 52 km south | 155 nights | 73 nights | 16°F |
| Kit Carson County, CO | 52 km north | 157 nights | 63 nights | 18°F |
| Wallace County, KS | 73 km east | 148 nights | 62 nights | 17°F |
| Greeley County, KS | 80 km southeast | 160 nights | 74 nights | 16°F |
| Lincoln County, CO | 80 km west | 185 nights | 99 nights | 13°F |
| Sherman County, KS | 95 km northeast | 157 nights | 69 nights | 17°F |
Cheyenne County within CO
Cheyenne County ranks 31 of 64 CO counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Summit County, CO at 177 nights, with a 5°F average winter low. The fewest is Mesa County, CO: 44 nights, winter lows near 21°F. At 4,386 ft, Cheyenne County sits 2,494 ft below the state's median county elevation of 6,880 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 Kit Carson (9 mi NNE), CO, 12 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. How a county figure is built from stations: how the numbers are made.