Will Pipes Freeze in Dickey County, ND? 109 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Dickey County
In a normal year Dickey County, ND gets 109 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 | 178 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 109 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 68 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 38 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 109 nights of risk to 68 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 09/28, last around 05/09. For 20°F: 10/27 to 04/12.
How cold Dickey County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 5°F; the coldest month, January, averages 2°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, April, November, December: 68 nights a year, and 38 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2°F | 6°F | 19°F | 31°F | 45°F | 55°F | 60°F | 57°F | 48°F | 35°F | 21°F | 8°F |
Dickey County next to its neighbours
LaMoure County, ND, 40 km north, gets 113 nights below 20°F to Dickey County's 109 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dickey County, ND | - | 178 nights | 109 nights | 2°F |
| LaMoure County, ND | 40 km north | 180 nights | 113 nights | 2°F |
| Brown County, SD | 59 km south | 179 nights | 112 nights | 1°F |
| McPherson County, SD | 66 km southwest | 179 nights | 111 nights | 3°F |
| Sargent County, ND | 67 km east | 178 nights | 112 nights | -1°F |
| McIntosh County, ND | 71 km west | 185 nights | 116 nights | 1°F |
| Ransom County, ND | 75 km northeast | 182 nights | 111 nights | 0°F |
Dickey County within ND
Dickey County ranks 47 of 53 ND counties for nights below 20°F. The most is Rolette County, ND at 137 nights, with a -3°F average winter low. The fewest is Slope County, ND: 100 nights, winter lows near 10°F. At 1,456 ft, Dickey County sits 278 ft below the state's median county elevation of 1,733 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 Fullerton (1 mi ESE), ND, 9 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.