Will Pipes Freeze in Daniels County, MT? 127 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Daniels County
In a normal year Daniels County, MT gets 127 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 99% of US counties.
Risk level: Severe. The risk season runs September to May, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 205 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 127 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 77 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 47 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 127 nights of risk to 77 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 09/06, last around 05/28. For 20°F: 10/03 to 04/30.
How cold Daniels County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 3°F; the coldest month, January, averages 0°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, October, November, December: 77 nights a year, and 47 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0°F | 4°F | 16°F | 27°F | 38°F | 47°F | 52°F | 50°F | 40°F | 28°F | 15°F | 4°F |
Daniels County next to its neighbours
Sheridan County, MT, 75 km east, gets 129 nights below 20°F to Daniels County's 127 nights. Valley County, MT, 97 km southwest, gets 104 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniels County, MT | - | 205 nights | 127 nights | 0°F |
| Roosevelt County, MT | 70 km southeast | 203 nights | 128 nights | 1°F |
| Sheridan County, MT | 75 km east | 203 nights | 129 nights | -2°F |
| Valley County, MT | 97 km southwest | 179 nights | 104 nights | 5°F |
| McCone County, MT | 131 km south | 183 nights | 99 nights | 7°F |
| Richland County, MT | 133 km southeast | 181 nights | 102 nights | 5°F |
| Divide County, ND | 149 km east | 196 nights | 126 nights | -1°F |
Daniels County within MT
Daniels County ranks 5 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 2,511 ft, Daniels County sits 1,411 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 Scobey (4 mi NW), MT, 7 km away (close match). A normal year, not tonight's forecast: check the forecast low for the night itself. Why elevation is part of the blend: how county numbers are made.