Will Pipes Freeze in Clearwater County, ID? 55 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Clearwater County
In a normal year Clearwater County, ID gets 55 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 68% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs October to April, worst in December.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 209 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 55 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 18 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 5 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 55 nights of risk to 18 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.
How cold Clearwater County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 20°F; the coldest month, January, averages 19°F overnight. 11 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Aug, 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: 18 nights a year, and 5 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19°F | 20°F | 24°F | 28°F | 35°F | 41°F | 45°F | 43°F | 36°F | 29°F | 25°F | 20°F |
Clearwater County next to its neighbours
Mineral County, MT, 67 km northeast, gets 60 nights below 20°F to Clearwater County's 55 nights. Lewis County, ID, 76 km southwest, gets 40 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clearwater County, ID | - | 209 nights | 55 nights | 19°F |
| Mineral County, MT | 67 km northeast | 185 nights | 60 nights | 21°F |
| Lewis County, ID | 76 km southwest | 159 nights | 40 nights | 23°F |
| Shoshone County, ID | 77 km north | 172 nights | 50 nights | 22°F |
| Latah County, ID | 84 km west | 143 nights | 29 nights | 25°F |
| Idaho County, ID | 93 km south | 243 nights | 94 nights | 15°F |
| Nez Perce County, ID | 93 km southwest | 109 nights | 20 nights | 27°F |
Clearwater County within ID
Clearwater County ranks 29 of 44 ID counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Custer County, ID at 145 nights, with a 5°F average winter low. The fewest is Nez Perce County, ID: 20 nights, winter lows near 27°F. At 4,014 ft, Clearwater County sits 633 ft below the state's median county elevation of 4,646 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 Headquarters, ID, 13 km away (fair 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.