Will Pipes Freeze in Dunn County, ND? 116 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Dunn County
In a normal year Dunn County, ND gets 116 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 97% 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 | 194 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 116 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 116 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 09/21, last around 05/20. For 20°F: 10/17 to 04/19.
How cold Dunn County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 3°F; the coldest month, January, averages 0°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, October, November, December: 71 nights a year, and 41 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0°F | 4°F | 16°F | 28°F | 40°F | 50°F | 54°F | 52°F | 43°F | 30°F | 16°F | 6°F |
Dunn County next to its neighbours
McLean County, ND, 95 km east, gets 119 nights below 20°F to Dunn County's 116 nights. Mercer County, ND, 59 km east, gets 113 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dunn County, ND | - | 194 nights | 116 nights | 0°F |
| Mercer County, ND | 59 km east | 191 nights | 113 nights | 3°F |
| Stark County, ND | 60 km south | 192 nights | 112 nights | 5°F |
| Billings County, ND | 69 km southwest | 183 nights | 103 nights | 6°F |
| McKenzie County, ND | 73 km northwest | 193 nights | 115 nights | 5°F |
| McLean County, ND | 95 km east | 192 nights | 119 nights | 2°F |
| Mountrail County, ND | 97 km north | 202 nights | 127 nights | 0°F |
Dunn County within ND
Dunn County ranks 29 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 2,209 ft, Dunn County sits 476 ft above 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.
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 Dunn Ctr (1 mi E), ND, 2 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.