Will Pipes Freeze in Chouteau County, MT? 97 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Chouteau County
In a normal year Chouteau County, MT gets 97 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 91% 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 | 97 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 52 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 29 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 97 nights of risk to 52 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 09/19, last around 05/20. For 20°F: 10/15 to 04/14.
How cold Chouteau County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 10°F; the coldest month, January, averages 8°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: 52 nights a year, and 29 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8°F | 11°F | 20°F | 30°F | 40°F | 48°F | 53°F | 51°F | 42°F | 30°F | 20°F | 11°F |
Chouteau County next to its neighbours
Hill County, MT, 86 km north, gets 101 nights below 20°F to Chouteau County's 97 nights. Cascade County, MT, 93 km southwest, gets 69 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chouteau County, MT | - | 182 nights | 97 nights | 8°F |
| Hill County, MT | 86 km north | 186 nights | 101 nights | 6°F |
| Liberty County, MT | 87 km northwest | 197 nights | 114 nights | 4°F |
| Cascade County, MT | 93 km southwest | 158 nights | 69 nights | 16°F |
| Judith Basin County, MT | 95 km south | 196 nights | 90 nights | 15°F |
| Fergus County, MT | 117 km southeast | 184 nights | 88 nights | 14°F |
| Blaine County, MT | 124 km northeast | 196 nights | 110 nights | 6°F |
Chouteau County within MT
Chouteau County ranks 26 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 2,828 ft, Chouteau County sits 1,094 ft below 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.
At this many nights, foam alone is not the answer: insulate or heat tape?.
Where this comes from
NOAA 1991-2020 climate normals, blended from 3 nearby stations and adjusted for elevation; closest is Loma, MT, 7 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.