Will Pipes Freeze in El Paso County, CO? 74 nights a Year
Freeze nights in El Paso County
In a normal year El Paso County, CO gets 74 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 79% 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 | 164 nights |
| Bare pipe in garage, attic or outside wall | 20°F | 74 nights |
| Insulated pipe in unheated space | 10°F | 21 nights |
| Inside the heated house | 0°F | 5 nights |
Foam-sleeving a bare pipe in unheated space takes it from 74 nights of risk to 21 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 10/08, last around 05/03. For 20°F: 11/04 to 04/01.
How cold El Paso County nights get
Average winter (Dec-Feb) low: 18°F; the coldest month, January, averages 17°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, October, November, December: 21 nights a year, and 5 nights below zero.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 17°F | 19°F | 27°F | 34°F | 43°F | 51°F | 57°F | 56°F | 48°F | 36°F | 25°F | 18°F |
El Paso County next to its neighbours
Teller County, CO, 57 km west, gets 107 nights below 20°F to El Paso County's 74 nights. Douglas County, CO, 65 km northwest, gets 71 nights.
| County | Distance | Below 32°F | Below 20°F | Jan low |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| El Paso County, CO | - | 164 nights | 74 nights | 17°F |
| Teller County, CO | 57 km west | 207 nights | 107 nights | 13°F |
| Elbert County, CO | 65 km northeast | 182 nights | 93 nights | 14°F |
| Douglas County, CO | 65 km northwest | 167 nights | 71 nights | 18°F |
| Pueblo County, CO | 74 km south | 158 nights | 76 nights | 16°F |
| Crowley County, CO | 88 km southeast | 171 nights | 94 nights | 13°F |
| Fremont County, CO | 88 km southwest | 183 nights | 92 nights | 13°F |
El Paso County within CO
El Paso County ranks 50 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 6,396 ft, El Paso County sits 484 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.
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 Colorado Springs Municipal Airport, CO, 14 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.