Will Pipes Freeze in Cimarron County, OK? 49 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Cimarron County
In a normal year Cimarron County, OK gets 49 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 63% 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 | 136 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 49 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 10 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 2 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 49 nights of risk to 10 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 10/17, last around 04/26. For 20°F: 11/13 to 03/23.
How cold Cimarron County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 22°F; the coldest month, January, averages 20°F overnight. 8 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, November, December: 10 nights a year, and 2 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 20°F | 23°F | 30°F | 38°F | 47°F | 58°F | 63°F | 62°F | 54°F | 40°F | 29°F | 22°F |
Cimarron County next to its neighbours
Dallam County, TX, 52 km south, gets 51 nights below 20°F to Cimarron County's 49 nights. Sherman County, TX, 76 km southeast, gets 45 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cimarron County, OK | - | 136 nights | 49 nights | 20°F |
| Dallam County, TX | 52 km south | 138 nights | 51 nights | 20°F |
| Baca County, CO | 62 km north | 149 nights | 63 nights | 17°F |
| Sherman County, TX | 76 km southeast | 132 nights | 45 nights | 21°F |
| Morton County, KS | 79 km northeast | 142 nights | 54 nights | 19°F |
| Union County, NM | 90 km west | 154 nights | 66 nights | 19°F |
| Texas County, OK | 92 km east | 123 nights | 39 nights | 22°F |
Cimarron County within OK
Cimarron County ranks 2 of 77 OK counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Beaver County, OK at 55 nights, with a 21°F average winter low. The fewest is Choctaw County, OK: 7 nights, winter lows near 34°F. At 4,183 ft, Cimarron County sits 3,174 ft above the state's median county elevation of 1,009 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 Boise City (2 mi E), OK, 4 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.