Will Pipes Freeze in Delta County, CO? 60 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Delta County
In a normal year Delta County, CO 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 October to April, worst in January.
It depends where the pipe is
| Pipe | Freezes near | Nights a year |
|---|---|---|
| Outdoor spigot, open crawlspace | 32°F | 151 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 60 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 17 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 3 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 60 nights of risk to 17 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 10/09, last around 05/03. For 20°F: 11/10 to 03/23.
How cold Delta County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 19°F; the coldest month, January, averages 18°F overnight. 9 months normally bring at least one night below 32°F (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, 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: 17 nights a year, and 3 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18°F | 22°F | 29°F | 35°F | 43°F | 53°F | 59°F | 57°F | 49°F | 38°F | 27°F | 18°F |
Delta County next to its neighbours
Montrose County, CO, 61 km southwest, gets 92 nights below 20°F to Delta County's 60 nights. Mesa County, CO, 54 km west, gets 44 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta County, CO | - | 151 nights | 60 nights | 18°F |
| Mesa County, CO | 54 km west | 127 nights | 44 nights | 19°F |
| Montrose County, CO | 61 km southwest | 185 nights | 92 nights | 13°F |
| Gunnison County, CO | 73 km east | 259 nights | 166 nights | -7°F |
| Ouray County, CO | 79 km south | 215 nights | 114 nights | 8°F |
| Garfield County, CO | 82 km north | 223 nights | 127 nights | 9°F |
| Pitkin County, CO | 91 km northeast | 213 nights | 119 nights | 9°F |
Delta County within CO
Delta County ranks 61 of 64 CO counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Summit County, CO at 177 nights, with a 5°F average winter low. The fewest is Mesa County, CO: 44 nights, winter lows near 21°F. At 6,183 ft, Delta County sits 697 ft below the state's median county elevation of 6,880 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 Cedaredge (3 mi E), CO, 5 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.