Will Pipes Freeze in Eagle County, CO? 141 nights a Year
Freeze nights in Eagle County
In a normal year Eagle County, CO gets 141 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 | 247 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 141 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 74 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 27 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 141 nights of risk to 74 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 09/07, last around 06/21. For 20°F: 10/15 to 04/28.
How cold Eagle County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 7°F; the coldest month, January, averages 6°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, March, April, October, November, December: 74 nights a year, and 27 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6°F | 9°F | 16°F | 24°F | 31°F | 36°F | 42°F | 42°F | 35°F | 26°F | 15°F | 7°F |
Eagle County next to its neighbours
Summit County, CO, 48 km east, gets 177 nights below 20°F to Eagle County's 141 nights. Pitkin County, CO, 49 km southwest, gets 119 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eagle County, CO | - | 247 nights | 141 nights | 6°F |
| Summit County, CO | 48 km east | 264 nights | 177 nights | 4°F |
| Pitkin County, CO | 49 km southwest | 213 nights | 119 nights | 9°F |
| Lake County, CO | 55 km southeast | 259 nights | 156 nights | 4°F |
| Grand County, CO | 74 km northeast | 265 nights | 154 nights | 2°F |
| Clear Creek County, CO | 88 km east | 234 nights | 136 nights | 12°F |
| Routt County, CO | 98 km north | 213 nights | 116 nights | 6°F |
Eagle County within CO
Eagle County ranks 15 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 8,500 ft, Eagle County sits 1,620 ft above 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 Vail, CO, 29 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.