Will Pipes Freeze in Coos County, NH? 110 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Coos County
In a normal year Coos County, NH gets 110 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 95% 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 | 195 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 110 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 71 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 41 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 110 nights of risk to 71 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 09/22, last around 05/23. For 20°F: 10/31 to 04/13.
How cold Coos County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 6°F; the coldest month, January, averages 3°F overnight. 10 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, March, April, November, December: 71 nights a year, and 41 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3°F | 3°F | 14°F | 27°F | 38°F | 48°F | 52°F | 51°F | 43°F | 32°F | 23°F | 11°F |
Coos County next to its neighbours
Franklin County, ME, 78 km northeast, gets 116 nights below 20°F to Coos County's 110 nights. Essex County, VT, 36 km west, gets 106 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coos County, NH | - | 195 nights | 110 nights | 3°F |
| Essex County, VT | 36 km west | 188 nights | 106 nights | 2°F |
| Oxford County, ME | 47 km east | 179 nights | 95 nights | 6°F |
| Caledonia County, VT | 68 km west | 176 nights | 92 nights | 6°F |
| Franklin County, ME | 78 km northeast | 199 nights | 116 nights | 2°F |
| Orleans County, VT | 78 km west | 185 nights | 103 nights | 2°F |
| Carroll County, NH | 88 km south | 183 nights | 92 nights | 8°F |
Coos County within NH
Coos County ranks 1 of 10 NH counties for nights below 20°F. The fewest is Strafford County, NH: 63 nights, winter lows near 18°F. At 1,429 ft, Coos County sits 717 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.
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 York Pond, NH, 17 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.