Will Pipes Freeze in Crook County, OR? 60 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Crook County
In a normal year Crook County, OR gets 60 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 71% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs September to May, worst in December.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 186 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 60 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 16 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 4 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 60 nights of risk to 16 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 09/17, last around 06/02. For 20°F: 10/29 to 04/07.
How cold Crook County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 23°F; the coldest month, December, averages 21°F overnight. 12 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec). Nights below 10°F, cold enough to freeze insulated pipe in an unheated space, come in January, February, October, November, December: 16 nights a year, and 4 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 23°F | 25°F | 28°F | 31°F | 38°F | 42°F | 48°F | 46°F | 39°F | 31°F | 26°F | 21°F |
Crook County next to its neighbours
Deschutes County, OR, 74 km west, gets 68 nights below 20°F to Crook County's 60 nights. Wheeler County, OR, 69 km northeast, gets 34 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crook County, OR | - | 186 nights | 60 nights | 23°F |
| Wheeler County, OR | 69 km northeast | 147 nights | 34 nights | 25°F |
| Deschutes County, OR | 74 km west | 216 nights | 68 nights | 21°F |
| Jefferson County, OR | 84 km northwest | 144 nights | 28 nights | 24°F |
| Grant County, OR | 114 km east | 178 nights | 53 nights | 21°F |
| Wasco County, OR | 128 km northwest | 130 nights | 19 nights | 26°F |
| Gilliam County, OR | 136 km north | 127 nights | 23 nights | 26°F |
Crook County within OR
Crook County ranks 7 of 36 OR counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Baker County, OR at 76 nights, with a 20°F average winter low. The fewest is Lincoln County, OR: under 1 night, winter lows near 40°F. At 3,854 ft, Crook County sits 1,837 ft above the state's median county elevation of 2,017 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 Barnes Station, OR, 27 km away (fair 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.